Chapter 26: Go To Hell
Empress Dowager Shen is the Successor Empress.
Originally Consort Xian.
After the Former Empress passed away, the position of empress was vacant for several years.
Until three years ago, the Former Emperor issued an imperial decree to confer upon Shen Consort Xian the title of empress.
And shortly thereafter, less than three months later, something happened at Prince Duan’s Mansion, and the Former Emperor passed away.
He had previously left an edict designating the Second Prince as Crown Prince to ascend the throne, and at the same time issued another decree allowing Empress Dowager Shen to hold the imperial seal and serve as regent for three years.
At that time, the First Prince, born to a concubine, was on his way to Jiangling to welcome the Second Prince back; the two adult princes were both away, Prince Duan was in charge of the outer court, and Empress Dowager Shen became the one in charge of the inner palace.
The Former Emperor’s posthumous edict was originally to be jointly managed by Prince Duan leading the court officials, but that night Prince Duan, who had stayed by the Former Emperor’s side without leaving a step, later died right in front of the Former Emperor’s spirit tablet.
In this way, it became perfectly logical for Empress Dowager Shen to take charge of issuing the posthumous edict.
Subsequently, the new emperor ascended the throne; the Mu Family, having raised the emperor for many years, saw their power greatly strengthened, and Empress Dowager Shen, relying on the imperial seal in her hand and the Former Emperor’s decree, rapidly expanded her influence, making the Shen Family, a lineage of civil officials, a powerful faction on par with the Mu Family and the imperial tutor’s Chu Family.
Empress Dowager Shen’s eldest brother Shen Ye serves as Right Minister of Works and Vice Minister of the Secretariat.
The Mu Family, having merit from raising the emperor for many years, had their member appointed as Left Minister of Works and Vice Minister of the Secretariat as soon as the emperor ascended the throne.
As for the Chu Family, they had already been appointed as Left Chancellor of the Ministry of Personnel even when the Former Emperor was still alive.
In addition, the descendants of these three families intersperse and hold positions in the Three Departments and Six Ministries.
The court structure from the Former Emperor’s time underwent earth-shaking changes in an instant.
Thereafter, among the various aristocratic families, even those with high officials such as Right Chancellor of the Ministry of Personnel, in terms of real power, these three families are the foremost.
In today’s Three Departments and Six Ministries, no family can solely control any office, no one dares claim to cover the sky with one hand, but the power in the imperial court is almost entirely divided among Prince Jingyang’s Mansion and the Shen, Mu, and Chu families.
Yue Tang withdrew her hand from Zhang Ying’s neck and slowly spoke: “Where is the Imperial City Commander Token that you picked up?”
Zhang Shaode was slightly stunned, then took the token out from his bosom.
Yue Tang took it, glanced at it twice, then turned to draw a sheet of paper from the table and tossed it in front of him.
“Draw me the defense deployment sentry points of Du Minghuan’s Study as well.”
Zhang Shaode was slightly stunned: “Sentry points?”
Yue Tang reached out to Huo Yun for the sash that Zhang Ying had dropped on the ground, then re-tied her clothes tightly: “Don’t tell me you don’t know.”
Zhang Shaode swallowed a mouthful of saliva, grabbed the brush, trembled as he dipped it in ink, and then quickly began drawing.
“The positions of the points are the positions of the sentry posts, all in hidden places. They are set according to the positions of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams.”
He drew the general layout of Marquis of Guangling’s Mansion on the paper, and specially marked the location of the study.
Several points were marked around the study, placed very meticulously.
Yue Tang took it in hand, pinched her five fingers according to the positions of the points to calculate a few times, then folded the paper and tucked it into her sleeve.
“Is there anything else to say?”
She pulled out several sheets of paper from her sleeve, first lit one close to the lamp flame and threw it into the fire basin, then another.
Zhang Shaode looked at the dense writing on the paper, his face ashen: “Princess, if you can let me go, once I’m out, I can tell you everything Marquis of Guangling has done in these three years!”
Yue Tang half-squatted by the fire basin and chuckled; the firelight reddened her face.
She threw all the paper in, then stood up, walked under the door, and grasped the bolt.
Zhang Shaode was shocked: “What are you doing!”
Yue Tang tugged at the corner of her mouth: “Of course, sending you on your way!”
Zhang Shaode’s eyes nearly split in rage: “I’ve told you everything, yet you still want to kill me? If I die, there will be no one left in this world to testify and expose the Du Family for you!”
“Testify?” Yue Tang turned back, “I just need to know who harmed me; do I really need to convince the other party first before I can kill someone?”
As her words fell, the bolt had already been drawn out.
She gave Huo Yun a look, then quickly retreated to the dark place inside the room.
Zhang Shaode roared furiously and sprang up, raising the sabre to fight desperately.
In the instant Huo Yun retreated, she grabbed Zhang Ying and thrust her forward to block, and the sabre immediately pierced her chest!
“Daughter!”
Zhang Shaode knelt on the ground in grief, knocking over the burning fire basin.
Yue Tang raised her long sword and without a word thrust it into his back!
“Swordplay for stabbing the chest and abdomen—I’ve practiced it countless times in these three years. Zhang Shaode, for daring to kill my son, you all must go down to hell!”
She gripped the sword hilt and twisted it in a circle, then withdrew the sword, turned, and grabbed the rope dangling from the rafter that Huo Yun had dropped!
The instant the bolt was pulled out, the door panel was also pushed down, and black-clothed men swarmed in; Zhang Shaode, clutching his spurting wound and kneeling on the ground, hadn’t even opened his mouth before he was trampled under their feet!
The one leading the charge through the door was He Hui; he raised his sabre high, ready for a round of slaughter, but unexpectedly, the room was deathly silent!
By the light of the torches held up by the others, Zhang Shaode was already sprawled on the ground, a bowl-sized blood hole on his back gushing blood; the blood flowed over the overturned fire basin on the ground, dyeing red the few pages of paper that had not yet finished burning.
He Hui froze instantly, then grabbed Zhang Shaode by the back, but before he could ask anything, a furious shout rang out from outside the courtyard gate:
“Bold madmen, daring to assassinate a court official—take down these rioting thieves at once!”
“Heir Apparent?…”
Hearing this voice, He Hui instantly collected himself and looked toward the door.
Du Yu was leading a team of Imperial City Department troops striding in, and the one he glared angrily at seemed to be himself.
He hurriedly dragged Zhang Shaode’s corpse in front of him: “Report to the Heir Apparent, Zhang Shaode is dead! But I don’t know who—”
“Loose arrows!”
Before He Hui finished speaking, Du Yu had already raised his arm high and issued the command loudly.
In a mere instant, countless arrows from the surrounding walls flew toward He Hui!
His second cry of alarm hadn’t even come out when his chest and back were struck by several arrows, instantly turning him into a pincushion!
The impact of the arrows spun him half a turn in place; looking out, he saw that Imperial City Department troops had surrounded the courtyard, with countless bows all aimed straight at him!
“The fugitive He Hui has committed murder, his crimes are heinous, he fully deserves to die! Kill him at once to avenge General Zhang!”
With Du Yu’s another command, instantly arrows flew again!
He Hui didn’t even have time to utter half a word before he fell with eyes wide in fury onto Zhang Shaode’s corpse.
Du Yu quickly stepped forward and rushed into the room.
But he saw the room in total disarray; apart from the corpses of Zhang and He, there was only Zhang Ying, who had a sabre thrust into her chest and was dead on the ground! A huge hole in the roof let in the deep blue night sky, and a dangling rope was still swaying.
Du Yu’s full certainty instantly vanished!
He pointed at the roof and roared madly: “Chase! All of you chase! Quickly chase the person back for me!…”
