Chapter 26: Go to Hell

Empress Dowager Shen was a successor empress.

She was originally Consort Xian.

After the passing of the former Empress, the position of Empress remained vacant for several years.

It was not until three years ago that the late Emperor issued an edict appointing Consort Xian Shen as Empress.

Less than three months later, an incident occurred at the Prince Duan residence, and the late Emperor passed away.

Before his death, he left an edict appointing the Second Prince as the heir to the throne, while simultaneously issuing another decree allowing Empress Dowager Shen to hold the Imperial Seal and assist in governing for three years.

At that time, the eldest prince, born of a concubine, was en route to Jiangling to welcome the Second Prince back. Both adult princes were away, the affairs of the outer court were managed by Prince Duan, and the affairs of the inner palace fell to Empress Dowager Shen.

According to the late Emperor's will, Prince Duan should have led the court officials in joint governance, but by a stroke of ill fortune, Prince Duan—who had stayed by the late Emperor's side without leaving for a single step—was subsequently killed by a falling object in front of the late Emperor's coffin.

Thus, it became a matter of course for Empress Dowager Shen to take charge of issuing the late Emperor's decrees.

Following the ascension of the new monarch, the Mu family, who had raised the Emperor for many years, grew in power. Meanwhile, relying on the Imperial Seal and the late Emperor's decrees, Empress Dowager Shen's influence expanded rapidly. The Shen family, a lineage of civil officials for generations, became a powerful clan on par with the Mu family and the Imperial Preceptor's family, the Zhu family.

Shen Ye, the eldest brother of Empress Dowager Shen, served as the Right Vice Director of the Secretariat and Vice Minister of the Secretariat.

Having been instrumental in raising the Emperor, the Mu family was appointed Left Vice Director of the Secretariat and Vice Minister of the Secretariat immediately upon his ascension.

The Zhu family, meanwhile, had already held the position of Left Assistant Minister of the Department of State Affairs during the late Emperor's reign.

Beyond this, the descendants of these three families held interlocking positions across the Three Departments and Six Ministries.

The court structure that existed during the late Emperor's reign underwent a world-shaking transformation in an instant.

Thereafter, among the various aristocratic families, even those holding high offices such as the Right Assistant Minister of the Department of State Affairs were secondary in terms of actual power to these three families.

In the current Three Departments and Six Ministries, no single family could monopolize any specific bureau, and no one dared to claim absolute control, yet the power in court was almost entirely divided among the Prince of Jingyang's residence and the Shen, Mu, and Zhu families.

Yue Tang withdrew her hand from Zhang Ying's neck and spoke slowly, "Where is that Imperial City Command token you picked up?"

Zhang Shaode was momentarily stunned, then pulled the token from his bosom.

Yue Tang took it and glanced at it twice, then reached to the side of the table, pulled out a piece of paper, and tossed it in front of him.

"Draw the defensive sentry points of Du Minghuan's study for me as well."

Zhang Shaode was bewildered. "Sentry points?"

Yue Tang reached out to Huo Yun to take the sash that had fallen from Zhang Ying, then used it to retighten the girl's clothing. "Don't tell me you don't know."

Zhang Shaode swallowed hard, grabbed a brush, his hands trembling as he dipped it in ink, and began to draw rapidly.

"The locations of the points are the positions of the sentries; they are all in the shadows. They are set according to the directions of the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams."

He drew the general layout of the Marquis of Guangling's manor on the paper, highlighting the location of the study.

Several dots were placed around the study, positioned with great precision.

Yue Tang took the paper, used her fingers to perform a few calculations based on the positions of the dots, then folded the paper and tucked it into her sleeve.

"Is there anything else to say?"

She pulled several more sheets of paper from her sleeve, brought one close to the lamp flame to ignite it, threw it into the brazier, and then did the same with another.

Looking at the dense handwriting on the paper, Zhang Shaode's face turned ashen. "If the Princess can let me go, once I am out, I can tell you everything the Marquis of Guangling has done over these past three years!"

Yue Tang knelt halfway by the brazier and let out a short laugh, the firelight reddening her face.

She threw all the papers into the fire, then stood up, walked to the door, and gripped the door bolt.

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

The corners of Yue Tang's mouth curled. "Naturally, sending you on your way!"

Zhang Shaode's eyes nearly burst from their sockets. "I've told you everything, yet you still want to kill me? If I die, no one in this world will be left to testify against the Du family for you!"

"Testify?" Yue Tang turned around. "I only need to know who harmed me. Do I really have to persuade my target before I can kill them?"

As her voice fell, the door bolt was pulled out.

She gave Huo Yun a look, then quickly retreated into the shadows of the room.

Zhang Shaode roared and lunged upward, brandishing a large saber in a desperate attempt to fight.

The moment Huo Yun retreated, he grabbed Zhang Ying and thrust her forward as a shield; the large saber immediately pierced through her chest!

"My daughter!"

Zhang Shaode fell to his knees with a grief-stricken cry, knocking over the burning brazier.

Yue Tang raised her long sword and, without a word, plunged it into his heart!

"I have practiced sword techniques targeting the chest and abdomen countless times over these three years. Zhang Shaode, since you dared to kill my child, you all shall go to hell!"

She gripped the hilt, spun in a circle, then withdrew the sword and turned to grab the rope hanging from the ceiling beam that Huo Yun had lowered!

The moment the bolt was pulled, the door panels were pushed inward, and men in black swarmed in. Zhang Shaode knelt on the ground, clutching his bleeding wound, but before he could even open his mouth, he was trampled under their feet!

Leading the charge was He Hui. He raised his large saber, preparing for a slaughter, only to find the room deathly silent!

By the light of the torches brought in by the others, they saw that Zhang Shaode was sprawled on the ground, a large, gaping hole in his back pulsing with blood. The blood flowed over the overturned brazier, staining the remaining unburnt pages of paper red.

He Hui froze in shock, then grabbed Zhang Shaode by the back. But before he could ask a question, a thunderous shout erupted from outside the courtyard

"Audacious criminal! You dare attempt to assassinate a court official? Quickly, apprehend these rebels!"

"The Heir Apparent?..."

Hearing the voice, He Hui instantly regained his composure and stood up to look outside.

Du Yu was leading a troop of Imperial City Command soldiers, marching in with large strides, and the person he was glaring at seemed to be He Hui himself.

He hurriedly dragged Zhang Shaode's corpse in front of him. "Reporting to the Heir Apparent, Zhang Shaode is dead! But we do not know if—"

"Fire arrows!"

Before He Hui could finish, Du Yu raised his long arm and issued the command loudly.

In an instant, countless feathered arrows flew toward He Hui from the surrounding walls!

Before his second cry of alarm could even leave his throat, several arrows had already struck his chest and back, instantly turning him into a human target!

The impact of the arrows sent his body spinning halfway around. As he looked out, he saw that the Imperial City Command troops had already surrounded the courtyard, and countless bows were aimed directly at him!

"The fugitive He Hui has committed heinous murder; his crimes are heaven-defying, and he deserves to die! Kill him immediately to avenge General Zhang!"

With another command from Du Yu, a volley of arrows flew once more!

He Hui did not even have time to utter half a word before his eyes bulged and he collapsed onto Zhang Shaode's corpse.

Du Yu rushed forward, sprinting into the room.

He found the room in total disarray. Aside from the corpses of Zhang and He, there was only Zhang Ying, lying dead on the floor with a large saber pierced through her chest! A massive hole in the roof allowed the deep blue night to pour in, and a dangling rope was still swaying back and forth.

Du Yu's absolute certainty vanished in an instant!

He pointed at the roof and roared, "Chase them! Chase them all! Get them back for me!..."