Chapter 318 - 99: Submission

Chapter 318: Chapter 99: Submission

With Xiao Xun’s departure, the crowd of officials and soldiers followed in a great rush.

Seeing that only their own people remained in the courtyard, Xiao Man dropped the formal posture she had learned in the Imperial Palace. With her hands on her hips, she grinned. "Little Rabbit, Granny, you did a great job this time! The Empress said there will be rewards!"

Laughter broke out among their people in the courtyard.

Only then did Chu Tang poke her head out from the hall. "Little Rabbit, is it safe now?"

Little Rabbit turned around and laughed heartily. "Sister Ah Tang, come on out! It’s been safe for a while."

’Safe? What safe?’ The courtyard had been full of the King of Zhongshan’s men just a moment ago. If she had come out and been captured by them to vent their anger—her life was too fragile to risk any ’what ifs’.

Once she confirmed that the King of Zhongshan’s men were gone, Chu Tang finally came out with her parents. Chu Lan, however, refused to emerge, lying on the floor and feigning illness.

"Mr. Chu, you’d better get up. There’s important business for you to handle," Xiao Man said.

Hearing this, Chu Lan decided he might as well just faint for real. ’Important business? How many lives did he have to go through this kind of thing?’

"—The Empress said you are to personally escort the Heir of Zhongshan King back to the Capital City. That way, the whole world will know that you were the one who, heedless of your own reputation and risking everything, captured the Heir of Zhongshan King," Xiao Man continued from outside.

Before she had even finished, Chu Lan, still lying on the floor, snapped his eyes open, his mind instantly clear.

’He knew what this meant—’

"—If you just lie there, how are you supposed to make a grand entrance into the Capital City, be admired by the masses, and be rewarded by the court?"

Chu Lan sprang to his feet before his wife, Mrs. Jiang, even had a chance to help him up.

He straightened his robes.

"My lord, are we really going?" Mrs. Jiang asked. With all these ups and downs, could this be real?

"It’s real. Of course it’s real," Chu Lan said. "We earned this with our lives. It’s completely, utterly real."

Chu Tang smiled as she helped her mother. "Father, remember to ask for a bigger reward."

’After all, I gave up the position of Empress for this,’ she thought.

....

....

When Xiao Xun came to see the Emperor, Xiao Yu was still on the battlefield.

The King of Zhongshan’s troops had been disarmed and were now under guard. The surviving citizens were released from the city. Seeing the tragic state of the dead, they felt a mix of relief and sorrow. Had the fighting continued, they would have been the next to be slaughtered like livestock.

The grieving citizens watched as a child in yellow robes walked among the wounded and the dead, helping to bandage injuries and holding an orphan who had lost his parents—he himself was not much older than the child in his arms.

"Your Majesty! Thank heavens we have Your Majesty—" The people knelt and wept loudly.

Soldiers approached from a distance, shouting, "The Heir of Zhongshan King has been brought, bound!"

Countless eyes turned in that direction.

A young nobleman, tightly bound, was escorted forward. Before he even got close, he knelt and declared in a loud voice, "I, Xiao Xun, acted impulsively, argued with the courtiers, and was rebellious and defiant. I have made a grave mistake, a crime for which I deserve to die ten thousand deaths."

With that, he kowtowed.

The King of Zhongshan was admitting guilt, but only for the "conflict" between Xiao Xun and the Minister of Announcing Imperial Decree. Thus, the charge was impulsiveness and defiance, and the attempt to force the Emperor’s abdication was covered up.

"Princely Heir, you must remember," a trusted aide sent by the King of Zhongshan had instructed him just moments before. "We will stand down, but the court must not harm or convict you."

Ning Kun gritted his teeth at his side. "Empress Chu threatened the Prince with the Princely Heir’s life. The Prince had no choice but to—"

Xiao Xun didn’t ask a single question, simply nodding in agreement. Upon seeing the Xiao Emperor, he knelt without a moment’s hesitation.

Xiao Yu looked at the man kneeling not far away. He didn’t actually recognize this cousin-uncle; perhaps they had met once or twice when he was a child, but he had no memory of it.

But he knew this was the man who had come to the Chu Family estate that night to kill him.

Looking at this enemy so close at hand and hearing the flimsy charge of "acting impulsively," Xiao Yu felt neither grief nor indignation. He didn’t ask any questions; his expression remained calm.

Earlier, Old Bai had relayed Sister Chu’s words: to avoid further casualties, the court also had to take a step back, downplay the incident, and for now, not pursue the charge of treason against the King of Zhongshan and his son.

Whatever Sister Chu said, he would do. And she had told him one more thing—

Xiao Yu put down the orphan he was holding and said, "Xiao Xun, you need not kneel to me, nor do you need to confess your crimes to me. You should be kneeling to these people who have died. It is to them you should confess."

Hearing this, the crowd erupted in a heaven-shaking torrent of cries.

"That’s right! It was all his fault—"

"My son! You died so horribly! You heard the Heir of Zhongshan King was ’protecting’ the Capital City, so you ran to enlist, and you ended up dead under his horses’ hooves."

"That damned Heir of Zhongshan King!"

Amid the curses and sobs, one citizen who had lost a loved one, overcome with hatred, grabbed a handful of dirt and rocks from the ground and threw it. Others immediately followed suit.

Xiao Xun remained kneeling on the ground, motionless, allowing the rocks, dirt, and even shoes to strike his body and face.

....

....

The city was ablaze with lights late into the night, and the encampment of soldiers outside looked like a river of stars.

The battlefield had been cleared. The bodies were gone, and the wounded had been settled in the city, but the stench of blood still lingered in the air as one walked through.

Xie Yanfang stopped and looked down at the ground. Despite being trampled and buried, a single blade of grass had managed to sprout, growing crookedly.

"The long, hard winter is finally over," he said softly.

Beside him, Uncle Cai’s face was colder than any winter. "Deng Yi must have a death wish!"

He was holding a bright yellow, dragon-patterned scroll, but the next moment he threw it to the ground, instantly crushing the crooked blade of grass out of sight.

"The King of Zhongshan failed to properly raise his son. The Princely Heir Xiao Xun is arrogant, insubordinate, disobedient to commands, and has brought chaos to the country."

He recited the contents of the imperial decree word by word. "These first few sentences at least sound reasonable, but what follows—"

"In consideration of the King of Zhongshan offering one hundred thousand troops for the court’s military campaigns and sending his heir to the Capital City for disciplining—and as acknowledging and correcting one’s mistakes is the greatest of virtues—he is hereby specially granted the title of ’Guardian King,’ to pray for the eternal stability of our Great Xia and the well-being of all its people."

"Deng Yi! How could he dare draft such an imperial decree!"

Xie Yanfang looked down at the decree and suddenly asked, "Did the Empress write him a letter?"

Uncle Cai was taken aback. ’We’re talking about Deng Yi’s decree—’

Of course, the timing of Deng Yi’s decree was too coincidental. It was clearly negotiated with the King of Zhongshan while he was being besieged by the Empress—or more accurately, while the Empress was sitting alone in the Prince Zhongshan Mansion, having gone to face him herself.

Ultimately, this all came down to the Empress.

"There are no letters from the Empress in the official post dispatches," Uncle Cai said coldly. "But the Empress has personnel that we do not control."

That explained how the Empress, despite being in the Border County, was so well-informed about the movements in the Capital City and the court. It was how the Chu family was able to escape, and how she was able to capture the Heir of Zhongshan King.

For the King of Zhongshan and his son to suddenly confess, and for Deng Yi to suddenly send such a decree, it must be—

"The Empress conspired and negotiated with Deng Yi," Uncle Cai continued.

Xie Yanfang cut him off with a soft sigh. "And here I am, wondering why the Empress didn’t write to me. She didn’t conspire and negotiate with me."

Uncle Cai was stunned again, then said in exasperation, "Master, what are you thinking? How would she have the nerve to write to you, the Third Master! She only dares to hide from you and cut secret deals with Deng Yi, ruining your plans."

The more he spoke, the more his hatred grew. ’Deng Yi, Chu Zhao... those two connivers! Despicable! Shameless!’

"They’re turning the court into a laughingstock!"

Xie Yanfang smiled and placated Uncle Cai. "This isn’t a laughingstock. It’s just a transaction."

He reached down to pick up the imperial decree. With the same hand, he gently nudged the crushed blade of grass upright before continuing to walk forward.

The moment Xiao Xun knelt before the army—no, the moment the King of Zhongshan’s forces began to retreat, he had known.

That girl had done it.

Her transaction with the King of Zhongshan, her transaction with Deng Yi—she had accomplished them both.

Uncle Cai’s furious voice echoed in his ear.

"To use the court, to use the Great Xia, to make a deal with the King of Zhongshan—what right do they have!"

"Deng Yi has many supporters, and because he holds the Jade Seal, he was able to force this decree through."

"Master, let him write what he wants. He might be able to send it, but we can make sure it vanishes from the face of the earth!"

Although the imperial decree had left the court, it never reached the army to be read. It was intercepted halfway by men from the Xie family.

They could do more than just intercept it; they could make it disappear completely, as if it had never existed.

’Does Deng Yi really think he’s omnipotent just because the Xie family isn’t currently at court?’

Upon hearing this, Xie Yanfang, who had seemed lost in thought, stopped walking and looked at the decree in his hand.

Uncle Cai reached out a hand. "I’ll burn it!"

Xie Yanfang raised the scroll, dodging Uncle Cai’s hand. A smile appeared on his face in the darkness.

Uncle Cai was exasperated. "Master, don’t fool around."

Xie Yanfang chuckled. "Uncle Cai, *you* stop fooling around. We can intercept the decree, we can burn it, but we can’t stop what’s happening."

Uncle Cai’s face fell.

"The root of this matter isn’t the decree," Xie Yanfang said, waving the scroll in his hand. "It is... authority."

As Grand Tutor, entrusted by the late Emperor to be Regent and holding the Jade Seal, no matter how vile or shameless Deng Yi may be, he has the authority. And with that authority, he can do this.

No matter how absurd it may seem.

The same is true for Chu Zhao.

She may be young, she may have lost her father, and her family background may be weak, but she is the Empress appointed by the late Emperor. She is the Queen Mother of Great Xia. Therefore, she has the power to use Great Xia itself as a bargaining chip.

The more one wields power, the more skillfully one wields it.

Xie Yanfang gazed toward the Northwest. "You see? Miss Ah Zhao wielded it quite well this time."

The more one wields power, the stronger it becomes.

This battle has brought him, Xie Yanfang, great renown.

This act of *averting* battle has brought Empress Chu great renown.

Xie Yanfang lowered his gaze back to the imperial decree, called out for Du Qi, and tossed it through the air.

Du Qi, who had been hidden in the night, reached out and caught it.

"Announce it to the world," Xie Yanfang said.