Read Novel Full Chapter 0773 Sorrow
Chapter 0773 Sorrow
Empress Dowager Song was dressed in a pale-blue palace gown. Across her chest was a broad, crescent-white brocade wrap, and a blue jade belt accentuated her graceful, shapely figure. Her skin was delicate and smooth, her hair black and glossy, and her complexion rosy. She did not look like an old woman in her forties at all; instead, she looked like a twenty-seven-year-old young married woman full of countless charms.
Standing in the Golden Throne Hall📹, Yan Wushuang swept a glance over Empress Dowager Song and said with a smile, "You really do live up to the title of bewitching woman."
Empress Dowager Song also knew her current situation well and retorted, "Yan Wushuang, kill me if you want. I am not afraid of you." She hated Han Yuchen to death. That vile woman had actually fled alone without taking her along, leaving her here to be humiliated.
Yan Wushuang turned, walked a few steps, stopped before the Dragon Throne, then turned and sat down on it. Looking at Empress Dowager Song with a face full of smiles, he told her, "Kneel."
Empress Dowager Song naturally refused to kneel, but the two guards beside her kicked her in the calves, forcing her to kneel on the ground.
Yan Wushuang spread his arms, leaned back against the Dragon Throne and asked with a smile, "How does it feel to be treated like a mole cricket and an ant?" Seeing that Empress Dowager Song was looking at him with hatred but saying nothing, Yan Wushuang smiled and spoke to Zhou Jing beside him: "Jing-er, she is the culprit who caused your grandmother and father to die unjustly. How do you think she should be dealt with?"
Zhou Jing looked at her hate-filled face and said indifferently, "She's not bad-looking. It would be a shame to kill her. Don't people in the army always complain that there aren't enough women? She can just be sent there."
Yan Wushuang thought this suggestion was perfect. He ordered the two soldiers below, "Did you hear that? Do as Jing-er said."
Zhou Jing added, "Keep a close watch on her. Don't let her die. If she dies, you won't live either."
Empress Dowager Song was no fool; how could she fail to understand what the two of them meant? She shouted, "Yan Wushuang, if you are a man, then kill me! What kind of man bullies an old woman?" Zhou Jing was wearing a helmet, so no one could see his face. Therefore, Empress Dowager Song did not know who he was.
Yan Wushuang laughed loudly. "Aren't you very good at serving men? With such fine skills in that regard, wouldn't it be far too much of a pity to kill you?" Want to die? There was no such easy thing. He wanted to make Empress Dowager Song unable to live, yet unable to die.
Empress Dowager Song still wanted to scream, but the soldier beside her covered her mouth. She bit down, and the pain made the soldier release her.
Once she was free, Empress Dowager Song tried to ram herself into the pillar beside her. Unfortunately, before her head could touch the pillar, someone grabbed her by the hair. Then she received a heavy slap across the face, and Empress Dowager Song was struck so hard that she saw stars and almost fainted.
After Empress Dowager Song was dragged away, calm returned to the Golden Throne Hall📹.
Yan Wushuang sat on the Dragon Throne and smiled at Zhou Jing, who was standing nearby. "A chair made of pure gold really does feel different to sit on."
Zhou Jing did not move so much as an eyebrow. "If Uncle likes it, you can sit on it every day from now on." The meaning behind these words was worth pondering.
Yan Wushuang smiled but stood up and declared, "This chair will be yours to sit on in the future."
Not long after night fell, Tie Kui came over to report his spoils. Apart from the three halls where the Emperor lived, they had looted the entire Imperial Palace clean. There were so many items that they were impossible to count. Tie Kui only gave a rough summary, then asked, "Marshal, all the palace maids and eunuchs have been imprisoned. How should they be dealt with? Please give your orders, Marshal."
Yan Wushuang glanced at Zhou Jing and asked, "How do you think those people should be dealt with?" Those people were of no importance to Yan Wushuang.
Zhou Jing replied coldly, "Send all the women to the army camp and k!ll all the eunuchs." Keeping them alive would only waste food!
Tie Kui briefly composed a draft in his mind before saying, "Marshal, quite a few men in the army are still bachelors. Bestowing those palace maids who have not been deflowered upon them would also be a favour from you, Marshal. As for those eunuchs, the youngest is only six years old. Killing them all would damage your reputation, Marshal." He had no way to object to sending palace maids who had been deflowered into the army as military prostitutes. This was because the soldiers would not marry women who had lost their virginity. He could not bring himself to suggest releasing them. Doing so would affect the soldiers' benefits. When the time came, many people would certainly have opinions about him.
Tie Kui greatly disliked this Jing Wang, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. This man was even more bloodthirsty than Yan Wushuang. Although Yan Wushuang had k!lled many people and his methods were extremely brutal, they were all his enemies. However, Zhou Jing could use such vicious methods even against innocent people.
Seeing that Tie Kui actually dared to refute him and even secretly mock him as unrighteous, Zhou Jing's expression turned somewhat dark and cold. But before Yan Wushuang spoke, he did not speak first.
Yan Wushuang said with a smile, "I did not expect General Tie to have a heart that pities the weak. Fine, then. Investigate those people's backgrounds. Keep the clean ones and kill the unclean ones!"
Tie Kui asked another question. "Marshal, how should those imperial concubines be dealt with?" Someone like Tang Jieyu certainly could not be sent into the army, as this would make Tang Zhan lose face.
Yan Wushuang waved his hand. "There's no need to ask me about such a small matter. Handle it as you see fit!" He had no interest in those few concubines. The woman he was interested in had still not been caught.
Tie Kui felt that Yan Wushuang was acting somewhat strangely today. On ordinary days, when would he ever be this easy to speak to? However, Yan Wushuang could act strangely as he wanted, but Tie Kui himself could not make decisions on his own authority. If Yan Wushuang later settled accounts after autumn, he would be in trouble. After this incident, Tie Kui became even more cautious and did not dare to take a single wrong step. "Marshal, then I will send these concubines back to their maiden families."
Yan Wushuang said impatiently, "Handle this matter as you see fit. Leave."
After Tie Kui left, Qiu Dashan spoke up, "My Lord, should we summon the civil and military officials into the palace?" With the approval of the Imperial Court officials, it would be easier for Jing Wang to ascend the throne.
Yan Wushuang said, "Let's talk about this tomorrow morning!" He then stood up and said to Meng Nian, "Come take a walk with me."
The entire Imperial Palace was full of people. Soldiers walking outside all held torches, making the place extraordinarily lively. As Yan Wushuang walked along, he saw nothing but excited faces. The spoils of war obtained today were more than all those from previous years combined, and tonight, they could even stay inside the palace halls where the Emperor had lived. It would have been hard for these soldiers not to be excited.
Yan Wushuang walked slowly. As he did so, he asked Meng Nian beside him, "Where do you think Han Yuchen and Zhou Yan could be hiding?"
Meng Nian replied, "There must be a secret passage inside the Imperial Palace. They must have escaped the palace through it." If they were hiding inside the palace, they would have been found long ago.
Yan Wushuang gave a sound of acknowledgement and raised his head to look at the sky.
The deep blue sky was filled with shining stars like gemstones. The bright, pure moon resembled a piece of white jade embedded in the boundless night sky.
After looking up at the stars for a long while, Yan Wushuang muttered to himself, "Those who deserved to die are all dead. Why don't I feel the slightest bit satisfied?"
Since the Tong City Incident, although Yan Wushuang survived, he had never slept well again. As soon as he closed his eyes, all he saw was a field of blood red. Not only was it the blood of the Yan family, but also that of the innocent common people of Tong City. In pursuit of revenge over the years, he had exhausted both his mind and body. He had even gone through life and death several times himself. Now his enemies were all dead, and his vengeance had been fulfilled. Yet he still was not satisfied; there was something in his heart that he could not express.
Meng Nian suggested, "My Lord, if you do not feel satisfied, then let's return to Liaodong!" When Yan Wushuang said he was not interested in that Dragon Chair, Meng Nian grew anxious.
Yan Wushuang immediately came to his senses, looked at Meng Nian and asked, "You don't like the capital? The capital is the most prosperous place under heaven."
Meng Nian shook his head. "I do not like it. No matter how prosperous it is, it is not our home. Marshal, Liaodong is our root, and it is also our home."
A mocking smile appeared on Yan Wushuang's face. "Home? What home?" Once the Yan family was destroyed, he had no home left.
Hearing these words made one feel sorrowful. After generations of loyal service, the Yan family was repaid with the annihilation of their whole clan.
Meng Nian hesitated for a moment, but decided to speak his mind anyway. "My Lord, Zhou Jing was raised and trained by us, and he is very loyal to you at the moment. However, people's hearts can easily change, and once Zhou Jing ascends the throne and becomes Emperor, his ambitions will grow too. If others incite him, then he will certainly break free from your control and may even turn on you. My Lord, to say something unlucky, perhaps in ten years we will be reduced to dead souls beneath the blade." If Yan Wushuang had no intention of becoming Emperor, then they should return to Liaodong and stop mixing in the capital. Otherwise, they must aim for the throne. If not, they would only be making wedding clothes for Zhou Jing. When Zhou Jing's wings hardened, he would also get rid of them.
The grief in Yan Wushuang's eyes flashed past in an instant, and he replied, "I know what you mean, but now is not the time."
Meng Nian blurted out, "My Lord, then when will it be possible?" He had said that his master was not someone who would make wedding clothes for others, and sure enough, things were just as he had predicted.
Yan Wushuang said, "When that time comes, it will naturally be possible."
Tie Kui stayed in Liuli Palace that night.
When Tie Kui approached the entrance to the palace hall, he heard Lu Yingyi addressing everyone inside Liuli Palace. "Do you know who is being held in the palace hall next door?" Because there were too many people, everyone slept on makeshift beds on the floor. All the gold bricks of Liuli Palace had been pried up, and now the interior was also a complete mess. But when they were marching and fighting wars, they even slept outdoors. These conditions were already counted as good.
Everyone began making a commotion, and one person's voice was especially loud. "Who's being held there?"
Lu Yingyi replied, "It's the Emperor's mother, Empress Dowager Song. I heard that she is already in her forties, but her chest is even larger than Miss Saijin's from Yichun House. Her waist is so slender that it looks as though it would break if she bent over, and her skin is as delicate as an eighteen-year-old maiden's..."
Tie Kui could not bear to listen anymore. If he kept listening, he would surely vomit. No matter how well Empress Dowager Song had maintained herself, she was still an old woman in her forties. It was unbelievable that these people's tastes were actually this heavy, to be interested even in an old woman in her forties. Tie Kui walked in and said to everyone, "Stop talking nonsense. It is already very late. You should go to sleep."
Everyone dispersed and went to sleep.
Tie Kui said to Lu Yingyi, "Come with me."