Небо над реками и озерами очень чистое - Глава 97
Two rulers were assassinated, the people were in uproar and wanted to rebel, and the ministers were terrified. The deadlock almost led to the downfall of the country. The once prosperous Shule was in turmoil, with the throne vacant and no one daring to succeed to the throne.
The father was found and returned from abroad to succeed the king. The actions and reputation of the carefree prince slightly dispelled the suspicions of the Tianshan people. They submitted a memorial to submit to the emperor and offered bribes, finally persuading the left envoy of Tianshan to speak well of them before the king, thus stopping another assassination attempt. Afterwards, to show their obedience, they sent their own son as a hostage to demonstrate their sincerity.
Young and impetuous, he sneered at the middle-aged man with graying temples beneath the royal robes. His former filial piety had long been worn away by inhuman training; the man before him held no paternal affection whatsoever, only the calculations of a chess piece and a chess player.
"You brought me back just for this day?"
"I suppose so." Caught between the people and the powerful, weariness replaced his nonchalance. In the secluded room, the man scrutinized from the shadows behind the jade table, his gaze complex and obscure.
"You should have had more children back then," he mocked mercilessly. "Otherwise, how would you have enough to kill?"
"Being clever won't necessarily kill you; the ancestors of Shule will protect you."
Ancestor… He laughed so hard he almost choked, but the man seemed not to hear him. Realizing he had lost his composure, he returned to the main topic.
"I thought Tianshan preferred an incompetent hostage."
"You're not going to be a proton."
"That's rare." He was quite surprised. "Is there a better option than protons?"
After a long silence, the man said in a deep voice.
"You will be sent to the slave camp as a refugee from the Western Regions, and your future path will depend entirely on yourself."
A nobody with no identity. "That suits me perfectly."
He gave a forced smile. "Who is that unfortunate hostage?"
“Eda”.
Upon hearing this, anger flared instantly. "It shouldn't be him! Replace him immediately."
“There is no one more suitable than him.” Ignoring the boy’s outburst of anger, the man stood up, leaning on the table. “You have no right to order me around.”
"Isn't it enough that I've risked my life for you?" he snapped after holding back for a while. "Don't go too far."
“He came in with you and trained together; no one can hide it from Tianshan.”
"So what? He's already suffered enough because of me, so what…" He suddenly cut off his words, his eyes turning icy. "You did this on purpose. You had this plan all along when you brought me back!"
That's so stupid, how could he not have thought of that?
Eda was also an orphan, of similar age and build, and both were confined to the royal palace and forbidden from leaving... The scheme of substituting one person for another had been planned for a long time, otherwise, why would that close minister of Shule have granted his request to bring Eda along?
His arms were bulging with veins as he struggled to suppress his rage.
“The matter of Shule has nothing to do with Edda. I will be a hostage in exile and you can do whatever you want with me. Let him go.”
The man's expression was hidden in the shadows, but his voice remained unwavering. "Impossible."
He stared intently at the other person, "Don't even think I'll do as you wish."
“You have no choice.” The man said coldly and ruthlessly. “Don’t forget that you have the blood of the Shule royal family flowing through your veins. Even if you betray the Demonic Cult, no one will believe you; he will die even faster.”
“Ada is my friend!” he roared, his anger almost out of control. “He’s not like me; he wasn’t created for you to use.”
The man's shoulder twitched.
After a long standoff, the secret room finally responded.
"I will bribe the Left Envoy with a large sum of money to make his life easier in Tianshan and save his life."
How naive he was to believe it, or perhaps because he had no choice but to.
Then, Ada died.
Having only been in the mountains for three months, he was humiliated and brutally beaten to death by Elder Xiao over a trivial matter. His childhood companion, with whom he had depended for survival, died so violently, his life as insignificant as grass. A year later, after leaving the Cuifeng Camp, he learned of this news, and there was nowhere to bury him.
"Who are you burning paper money for?" The handsome young man asked softly as the flickering flames consumed the paper money.
"My brother."
A night bird perched on a treetop in the darkness, silently gazing at the firelight below, neither chirping nor singing.
"I hope I can have a share in the future."
"Pah!" He spat without thinking, his words decisive and firm. "What nonsense are you talking about? You won't die."
The last handful of paper money was thrown down, and the wind swirled the ashes upwards, dissolving into the deep black night.
(Down)
The message brought back by the secret envoy was written in code, the words revealed by the smoke of burning candles. It was spoken silently at the height of the power struggle in the Tianshan Mountains, in the blood-red twilight.
The only person in the world who was connected to him by blood died three days ago.
It's better if he's dead.
Qianming had already sensed something amiss. If that person were still alive, he would inevitably become a hindrance, so... his passing at this time was perfectly timed.
A night cry shattered my thoughts.
Only then did he realize that he was surrounded by darkness, the silver candles had burned out, and there was no light at all. He didn't know how long he had been there. Suddenly, he had a strong urge to find someone to drink with, but as he got up, he remembered that Shuying had already left Tianshan. He had left under the cover of night, returning to the Central Plains without a word, so hastily and urgently, as if afraid of hesitating and changing his mind.
He slowly sat down.
His sworn brother had left without a word, drifting away into the distance. He felt a sense of relief, for his most feared adversary had also departed with him. Jia Ye was always unpredictable, and even though Shu Ying was her most trusted shadow guard, he still had no confidence in defeating her.
With the loss of the King, the internal strife has reached a fever pitch, and the fate of the Snow Envoy remains uncertain. If he were to intervene in the struggle for the throne, he would certainly not tolerate the close ally, Shuying. His powerful ally would turn into a thorn in his side, and there is no guarantee that he would not be ruthless enough to kill him. Given Jia Ye's ruthlessness, Shuying might not escape unscathed.
Unless one can win someone over first, spend years with them, and gain complete knowledge of their methods and secrets, and be more respected by their subordinates than Jia Ye. It's a pity he's too sentimental, abandoning his long-desired freedom for that woman, otherwise... Jia Ye would surely be dead at the hands of the King, how wonderful.
We should be thankful for it.
If it weren't for Jia Ye's vengeful intent, he would have been trapped in a deadly predicament, completely at the mercy of others, becoming a pawn in Su's hands just like Qian Ming; if it weren't for Qian Ming's coercion backfiring, he would have had to face the reality of their alliance. With Jia Ye's ability to control thirty-six kingdoms, even if he were dead, Shule would still be in danger of collapse... After all, it was his homeland, the land from which his bloodline originated...
Fortunately, Jia Ye wanted to eliminate the Pope even more than he did; fortunately, she had an inexplicable mysophobia; fortunately, Shu Ying persuaded her to leave the cult with him; fortunately, that person died so timely…
But why, while feeling fortunate, does my heart feel empty?
Clearly... it's hatred.
At the last moment before leaving Shule, he could vaguely sense that someone was watching him from behind the heavy curtain. He never turned back, only looking at the moving caravan. The young man sitting upright in his brocade robes was his brother who had gone to be a hostage in his place.
After becoming a Moon Envoy, he gradually came to understand many things.
That person did indeed deliver the golden jewels and secret treasures to the Left Envoy, but deliberately allowed Elder Xiao, who was outwardly friendly but inwardly hostile, to find out. Enraged by Shule's bias and disregard, Elder Xiao intentionally provoked a fight, leading to Ada's innocent death. The longer the fake hostage lived, the greater the chance the secret plan would be exposed. The Demonic Sect had countless spies in the Thirty-Six Kingdoms; only the dead could guarantee safety. The ending was predetermined from the very beginning.
I wonder if Edda harbored any resentment, for he had no choice but to die under a capricious fate, just as he could not escape the existence he was destined to live. Now, sitting high on his throne, he often recalls the carefree days spent with his friends herding sheep and milking cows on the grasslands, dogfighting, gambling, and laughing. In the fragile, transparent spring of the green fields, two boys would hide side by side behind a rock, peeping at a hunter and his sweetheart in secret.
"What is the King laughing at?" A pair of soft, jade-like hands rubbed her forehead as she asked, her breath sweet as orchids.
His enigmatic eyes closed slightly, his expression peculiar, filled with longing and a touch of melancholy, and he did not answer.
The beautiful woman massaged his shoulders, and the obedient man stopped talking. After a long while, the man, who seemed to be asleep, suddenly spoke.
"Zi Su is dead."
The hand on his shoulder trembled slightly, then changed to gently patting the back of his neck.
"Congratulations on eliminating a major threat to the king."
“An hour ago, her head was brought to me. If it weren’t for her somewhat frightening expression, I would have liked to bring it over for you to see.” The lazy tone was casual and relaxed. “She was very concerned about her appearance, so I specifically ordered that a face be left intact, and the color of the rouge was not messed up at all.”
With her eyes closed, she touched her delicate lips with her fingertips, making sure the distance was perfect. "Very beautiful, just like yours."
"How dare Yan Rong compare to Hua Shi?"
The man smiled, seemingly amused. "How can the dead compare to the living?"
"The King is right."
"We were once close friends, so I have to show her some respect and arrange for her burial in three days. Guess how many people will come to say goodbye?"
"Yan Rong is dull-witted and cannot guess."
The man's eyes were half-open, his tone seemingly mocking yet serious. "Yanrong possesses a keen understanding of worldly affairs; how could she not guess, yet choose not to speak?"
The beautiful woman's eyes sparkled. "King, you know perfectly well that the Flower Envoy's departure will inevitably lead to desolation, so why bother asking?"
On the Tianshan Mountains, human life is the most worthless. Once fallen to the dust, no one will care for them. No matter who they were in life, they all become failures.
"I thought Zi Su had countless guests, or perhaps some of them were different."
Her beautiful face held a hint of mockery. "Your Majesty is truly joking. A man's conscience is tied to his pillow. Once a person is in the Yellow Springs, what feelings remain?"
The man burst into laughter. "How callous! In that case, why don't you escort her on her way? It would be a good deed."
"Me?" Her faint smile froze slightly.
"You've learned the art of seduction from her, so you're not exactly a stranger to it."
Cold sweat immediately broke out, and unable to hold back her laughter any longer, her knees buckled and she knelt down.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
"Crime?" Jiuwei sat up abruptly, a half-smile on her face. "What crime?"
Thinking of the cruelty of the King's methods in recent days, my tongue felt frozen.
"The crime of secretly informing her of information? The crime of accepting the Jade Spider Serpent Heart Powder? The crime of attempting to steal my personal seal? Or the crime of killing your companion who was about to expose your identity?" Jiuwei said, her narrow eyes flashing with murderous intent. "Speaking of which, you've done quite a few good things."
Her fingertips traced her delicate neck, and she clicked her tongue softly. "Gentleness is indeed the best cover. Who would have imagined that someone with no martial arts skills could kill someone?" She removed an ordinary ring from her slender finger, toying with it as she twisted the gemstone, revealing a fine, sharp spike that gleamed with a blue light. "I'm still waiting for you to make your move."
"Yanrong dares not." She knelt on the ground in fear, stumbling and barely able to speak. "Yanrong was forced into this situation. Although I obeyed, I did not reveal any important information. The poison powder was left locked in a box. I had no intention of harming you in the slightest. I beg Your Majesty to make a wise judgment."
Her pale face looked as if she might faint at any moment. "Yan Rong, having gained the king's favor, has no other desires but a peaceful life. But Hua Shi… is caught between life and death, and has no choice but to feign compliance…"
Since Jia Ye left the sect, Qian Ming's ambitions and desires were thwarted, and he was filled with hatred and anger, which he vented on Yan Rong, who resembled Jia Ye, and subjected her to extreme abuse in bed. Although he had heard about it, he was unable to step forward to protect her due to the power struggles, and could only turn a blind eye.
Seeing that Yan Rong's identity was delicate and still useful, Zi Su secretly taught her a few seductive techniques. Coupled with her servile and submissive behavior and constant pleading, she was somewhat easier to deal with. This marked the beginning of his spying. Later, she was ordered to stay by his side and act when the opportunity arose. She was always wavering. He coldly observed that she was being monitored and had not done anything improper. During their time together, she was tender and seductive, and they enjoyed each other's company. It would be a pity to kill her.
He paid little attention to the tearful pleas. After staring at her for a while, Jiuwei suddenly rubbed her cheeks. Seeing this face crying and begging for mercy was... indescribably awkward and strange. She paced a few steps before finally making a decision.
"I'll give you one day to pack your things and go to Jiangnan to find Shuying. From now on, your life and death will be decided by him." He raised his eyes to signal to the servant and left with a nonchalant reminder.
"If I were you, I would make good use of this face."