Ordinary people who beat the Dengwen Drum to bring their grievances before the emperor were required to endure twenty strokes of the rod first.
But he was Ning Shoujiang—the last surviving male of the Ning family. He had left home in his youth and spent years stationed at the border, devoting half his life to Yan Chi!
A man like that was respected, and no one believed he would ever commit treason or betray his country.
Thus, the soldiers guarding Xuan’de Gate exchanged glances. Some stared at the sky, others at the ground, but not one of them went to fetch the rods.
Countless commoners also gathered of their own accord around Xuan’de Gate, watching that figure and whispering among themselves.
“It’s General Ning Shoujiang! What grievance does he have that he must ask His Majesty to judge?”
“You’re far too out of touch. After Yan Chi lost two cities in succession, the news that General Ning had been captured spread throughout the capital. There are rumors that General Ning defected to the Xiongnu and deliberately sold them our military intelligence!”
“What nonsense! Every person in Yan Chi grew up listening to stories of the Ning family defending the country. If General Ning is a traitor, then my entire family must be Xiongnu!”
“Good heavens, brother, that’s quite a leap…”
“Everyone, tell me—would you sooner believe that you’re a member of the imperial family who was lost and raised among commoners, or that General Ning betrayed military intelligence and handed two cities over to the Xiongnu?”
“Heh heh, the imperial-bloodline story is definitely more believable~”
After Ning Shoujiang struck the drum three times, he placed the drumstick on the ground and closed his eyes, standing solemnly as he waited.
He never expected the commoners behind him to suddenly surge forward.
First, an old woman stepped up and stuffed a box of hand salve into his arms. Her voice caught with sympathy as she said, “General, life at the border must be terribly hard. Your face and hands have become so chapped. This old woman is poor and can’t give you anything precious, so I can only offer you this box of hand salve. Put some on every day—it will help!”
The salve had been forced into his arms, but Ning Shoujiang clearly saw that the old woman’s own hands and face were just as cracked and rough.
When he tried to return it, the old woman had already vanished into the crowd.
Others came forward to stuff him with baskets of eggs, homemade knee pads, sewn shoes, bags of flour, clothing, stirrups, spices, and all manner of other things.
Someone even came running with half a freshly butchered pig, shouting heartily, “General! This is Cuihua from our household. We raised her for more than a year and just butchered her! The meat’s tender and fragrant!”
“I can’t accept this!”
“Take it, take it!”
“Thank you, everyone, but I really can’t!”
“If you don’t take it, I’m going to be offended! Are you looking down on this little token of affection from ordinary folk like us?”
“I’ll take it, I’ll take it.”
Faced with the people’s enthusiasm, Ning Shoujiang could hardly refuse. In the end, he had no choice but to accept everything.
The morning mist had yet to disperse. Ning Shoujiang’s hands and feet were cold, but his heart was blazing with warmth.
The Ning family had always believed in loyalty to the sovereign and service to the nation. What had sustained the Ning family all these years was Yan Chi’s countless common people. Give them protection, and they would repay you with gratitude and remembrance.
“Thank you, everyone!” Ning Shoujiang was just about to cup his hands in thanks when—
A young woman was suddenly pushed into his arms.
Her face flushed with shyness as she gazed at him with watery eyes full of admiration.
The girl’s father stood nearby, grinning foolishly. “General Ning, you may spend most of your time at the border, but you still have to leave a descendant for the Ning family, don’t you? My daughter has admired you for years. Just give the word, and she’ll follow you home right away. She can bear you three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine children!”
Ning Shoujiang’s rough face instantly turned red.
The girl was no shrinking violet, either. She seized the opportunity and said, “General, I’m not afraid of hardship. Please let me stay by your side…”
By the time Yun Yaoyao and the others arrived atop the walls of Xuan’de Gate, they saw that everything around Ning Shoujiang was piled high with gifts.
A delicate young woman was even clinging to the heap of goods, refusing to let go. She gazed at the helpless Ning Shoujiang with tears in her eyes, as if he were some heartless rogue who had abandoned her.
Yun Yaoyao’s gossip radar immediately began to beep.
She glanced at Ning Shouli beside her and teased, “It looks like Minister Ning is about to gain a daughter-in-law.”
Ning Shouli gave a light cough and reminded her in a low voice, “Your Majesty, follow the procedure.”
Yun Yaoyao immediately put on a solemn expression and called down, “Who goes there, and what grievance do you bring?”
Ning Shoujiang knelt on the ground, his back ramrod straight. His words rang out like struck metal.
“Your Majesty, this humble subject, Ning Shoujiang, accuses Prince Ze of colluding with the enemy and betraying the nation! He sold our military intelligence, causing two cities to fall and this humble subject to be captured!”
The moment those words were spoken, the crowd erupted.
Yun Yaoyao slowly walked toward the battlements. Her black hair streamed beneath her jade crown, and her robes fluttered in the wind.
“Do you have evidence?”
“I do!”
A squad of border troops who had returned to the capital alongside Ning Shoujiang escorted a man forward and kicked him behind the knees, forcing him to kneel.
Anger flashed across Ning Shoujiang’s face as he said, “Your Majesty, this man is Chen Lijing, a military adviser stationed at the border. During the crucial battle against the Xiongnu, he was the one who leaked our plans in advance!”
Yun Yaoyao looked down at the bound figure and said coldly, “Chen Lijing, do you admit or deny General Ning’s accusation?”
Chen Lijing closed his eyes, his face ashen with despair.
The die was cast. Prince Ze would not survive, and neither would he. All he could do now was pray that his family would be spared.
He had only himself to blame. He had been so greedy that he had actually betrayed vital military intelligence for his own personal gain.
“Your Majesty, this humble subject admits everything!” Perhaps he had thought of what awaited him. Chen Lijing’s voice trembled, and tears of remorse and terror rolled down his cheeks. “This humble subject acted under Prince Ze’s orders and leaked all the military intelligence to the Xiongnu!”
A wave of furious curses immediately swept through the crowd. The imperial guards hurried to suppress the unrest, barely managing to calm the people down.
Yun Yaoyao felt not the slightest sympathy for a man like that. If she could, she would have let every commoner slap him across the face until he died.
She continued, “You have a witness. Where is the material evidence?”
Ning Shoujiang pulled a document from inside his robes.
“This document was personally written by the Xiongnu khan. It explains the truth behind the loss of the two cities and states clearly that Chen Lijing was the one who leaked the information.”
However, the cunning Xiongnu khan had insisted on blaming everything on Chen Lijing and refused to name the true mastermind. He simply did not want Yan Chi to have an easy time.
But Ning Shoujiang had already received Yun Yaoyao’s secret order: in these extraordinary times, they were permitted to make up a few things and pin the blame where necessary.
Thus, Ning Shoujiang continued with a perfectly straight face, “Although the document does not state that Prince Ze was the true mastermind, the Xiongnu Left Worthy King personally said so while torturing this humble subject. He believed that this humble subject would never survive, and therefore revealed that Prince Ze was behind everything.”
Censor Ni Tieju, who had returned from the border with Ning Shoujiang, hurriedly nodded. “Your Majesty, I can testify that this document was indeed written by the Xiongnu khan himself. It was one of the conditions for the return of the hostage. It also bears the Xiongnu khan’s totem.”
Ning Shoujiang and the border troops who had accompanied him knelt on the ground and struck their foreheads heavily against it.
“Now that both witness and material evidence are present, and all point to Prince Ze’s treason and betrayal of military intelligence…”
“We, your subjects, beg Your Majesty to uphold justice and execute Prince Ze! Let his death serve as an offering to the fallen soldiers at the border and the people of the two lost cities!”
At those words, the fury of the commoners surged even higher. Even the imperial guards could no longer keep it under control.
“Kill Prince Ze!”
“Kill Prince Ze!”
“Kill Prince Ze!”
On the city wall, the assembled ministers were all seething with rage.
Internal struggles were one thing, but he had actually colluded with the Xiongnu and handed over two cities for nothing. Was that even human?
They, too, began submitting petitions, shouting that Prince Ze must be executed immediately.
Not far away, Grand Tutor Tu’s face flushed with embarrassment. After cursing every member of Prince Ze’s family under his breath, he hurriedly slunk away.
Now that both eyewitnesses and physical evidence were in hand, the heinous crimes of colluding with the enemy, betraying the country, and surrendering two cities had provoked widespread outrage.
This time, killing Tushan Ze was exactly what the people wanted—and entirely justified. There was no way he could escape!
Yun Yaoyao said coldly, “Prince Ze is to be executed in public!”
