Chapter 26: Go to Hell

Empress Dowager Shen was the second empress consort, having originally held the rank of Virtuous Consort. Five years after the death of the previous Empress, the late Emperor elevated Consort Shen to the position of Empress; less than three months later, he passed away. Before his death, he issued an edict naming the Second Prince as his successor and a concurrent decree granting Empress Dowager Shen the Imperial Seal to serve as regent for three years.

On the night of his passing, the eldest prince, born of a concubine, was en route to Jiangling to escort the Second Prince back to the capital. Neither of the adult princes was present, leaving Prince Duan in charge of the outer court and Empress Dowager Shen in control of the inner palace. According to the late Emperor's will, the state affairs were to be managed collectively by the ministers under Prince Duan's leadership, but that very night, Prince Duan happened to die before the late Emperor's bier. Consequently, the task of promulgating the late Emperor's final edict naturally fell to the Empress Dowager.

Following the new Emperor’s ascension, the Mu family, who had raised the monarch for years, grew increasingly powerful. Empress Dowager Shen, wielding the Imperial Seal and the late Emperor's decree, expanded her influence with equal speed. The Shen family, traditionally a clan of civil officials, rapidly rose to become a political powerhouse on par with the Mu family and the Imperial Tutor’s family, the Chu clan.

The Empress Dowager’s eldest brother, Shen Ye, served as the Right Minister of the Secretariat and Vice Minister of the Secretariat. The Mu family, having earned merit for their years of raising the Emperor, took the posts of Left Minister of the Secretariat and Vice Minister of the Chancellery upon his accession. The Chu family, meanwhile, had held the position of Left Assistant to the Minister of the Department of State Affairs since the late Emperor’s reign. Beyond these core roles, members of these three families were interspersed throughout the various offices of the Three Departments and Six Ministries. Consequently, even with other high-ranking officials in court, these three clans held the preponderance of actual power among the civil bureaucracy.

Currently, no single family could claim exclusive control over any specific department, but the power of the court was essentially carved up among them. Zhang Shaode had claimed that those the Du family courted were individuals handpicked by the Secretariat during the spring examinations, and the power behind the Du family was inevitably tied to these same interests. While it was not necessarily the Shen family—who controlled the Secretariat—it remained certain that the influence did not extend beyond these three clans.

Yuetang withdrew her hand from Zhang Ying’s neck and spoke slowly: "Where is the Imperial City Command token you found?"

Zhang Shaode hesitated for a moment before pulling the token from his robes. Yuetang took it, glanced at it, and then reached to the table, snatched a piece of paper, and tossed it before him. "Draw the defensive sentry points for Du Minghuan’s study for me."

Zhang Shaode blinked, confused: "Sentry points?"

Yuetang looked down, using a silk sash from her gown to bind Zhang Ying’s clothing: "Don't tell me you don't know."

Zhang Shaode swallowed hard, grabbed a brush, and with trembling hands, dipped it into the ink before sketching rapidly. "The marked spots are the locations of the sentries, all hidden. They are arranged according to the positions of the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams." He drew the general layout of the Marquis of Guangling’s estate and hurriedly pointed out the study. The points he marked around the study were placed with meticulous precision.

Yuetang took the paper, calculated the coordinates with her fingers, then folded the paper and tucked it into her sleeve. "Anything else to say?"

As she spoke, she pulled several more papers from her sleeve, held one to the lamp flame until it ignited, and dropped it into the fire basin, followed by another.

Zhang Shaode stared at the dense handwriting on the papers, his face turning ashen. "If you spare me, Princess, once I am out of here, I can tell you everything the Marquis of Guangling has done over the past three years!"

Yuetang half-crouched by the fire basin and laughed, the glow of the flames reddening her face. "That won't be necessary." She tossed the remaining papers into the fire, stood up, and walked to the door, gripping the bolt.

Zhang Shaode was shocked: "What are you doing!"

Yuetang glanced back, the corner of her mouth curling: "Sending you on your way, of course!"

Zhang Shaode’s eyes widened in fury: "I told you everything, yet you still kill me? If I die, there will be no one left in this world to testify and expose the Du family for you!"

"Do you think I need that?" Yuetang giggled. "Testify? I am the victim! Whether you admit it or not is of no concern to me. I only need to know who harmed me. Do you think I need to persuade my opponent before I can kill them?"

She suddenly pulled the bolt! She then signaled to Huo Yun.

Zhang Shaode roared as he scrambled up, raising his broadsword to fight to the death. In the instant Huo Yun stepped back, she grabbed Zhang Ying and held her up as a shield; the broadsword instantly pierced Zhang Ying’s chest!

"My daughter!" Zhang Shaode fell to his knees, wailing in grief.

Yuetang lunged forward with her long sword, driving it deep into his back! "In these past three years, I have practiced the art of piercing the chest and abdomen countless times. Zhang Shaode, go to hell!"

She twisted the hilt, withdrew the blade, and turned to grab the rope Huo Yun had lowered from the rafters!

As the door bolt was pulled, the door panels were pushed over. Men in black swarmed in. Zhang Shaode, clutching his spurting wound, knelt on the ground and was trampled underfoot before he could even open his mouth!

Leading the charge was He Hui. He raised his sword, prepared for a bloody battle, only to find that Zhang Shaode had surrendered with unexpected ease. He instinctively stepped aside, and by the light of the torches held by his men, he saw Zhang Shaode slumped on the ground, a hole the size of a cup in his back, spurting blood.

He Hui realized something had happened in the room. He grabbed Zhang Shaode by the back, but before he could ask a question, a thunderous shout erupted from outside the courtyard: "Audacious rebels, how dare you assassinate a court official! Seize these rioters at once!"

Hearing the voice, He Hui’s focus sharpened. He mumbled, "The Heir Apparent."

Du Yu strode in, leading a troop of Imperial City guards. He Hui hurriedly dragged Zhang Shaode’s corpse before him: "Reporting to the Heir Apparent, Zhang Shaode is dead! But I don't know who—"

Du Yu had no intention of listening. He fixed a cold gaze on the man’s face and raised his arm: "Fire!"

As his voice fell, countless arrows flew from the walls toward He Hui! Before he could utter a second cry of alarm, his chest and back were pierced by multiple shafts, turning him into a human pincushion. The force of the arrows spun him around. As he looked out, he saw the Imperial City guard troops surrounding the courtyard, with countless bows and arrows aimed directly at him.

"The fugitive He Hui has committed murder and heinous crimes; he deserves his death! Kill him and avenge General Zhang!"

At Du Yu’s command, another volley of arrows rained down! He Hui did not even have time to say a single word before he collapsed, eyes wide with fury, onto Zhang Shaode’s corpse.

Du Yu stepped forward quickly to inspect the bodies of He Hui and Zhang Shaode, then rushed into the room. He found the place in total disarray; besides the two corpses and Zhang Ying, who lay on the floor with a sword protruding from her back, there was no one else.

Du Yu’s expression shifted, his certainty vanishing in an instant. He looked around and then raised his head; a massive hole in the roof made him stagger.

"...Pursue!" he roared, pointing at the roof. "Chase them! Catch them and bring them back to me!"