Xu Qinghuan withdrew her gaze from the old locust tree outside the window and let it fall upon the nightstand.
There, a scroll of bright yellow lay quietly.
It was an imperial decree.
Bright yellow brocade, rolled on cylinders of green jade at both ends.
However, at the bottom right corner of the decree, there was a drop of dried blood.
The drop of blood had turned dark red, firmly stuck to the brocade.
Marring its original sanctity.
Xu Qinghuan's thoughts were pulled back to the dawn of three days ago.
...
The rain had stopped.
The sky was not yet light; it was the darkest hour.
On the broken bridge, blood mixed with muddy water dripped down.
The entrance of the Xu family's Liu Garden was a living purgatory.
Xu Youde stood in front of the corpses, the Tang sword in his hand still dripping with blood.
The private soldiers behind him all carried a murderous aura, their armor covered with bloodstains and brain matter.
Just then.
A burst of frantic hoofbeats shattered the quiet of the rainy night.
Clatter, clatter, clatter!
The crowd only saw a fast horse, kicking up muddy water, charging over like mad.
Before the rider even arrived, a sharp, prolonged announcement pierced the darkness.
"The imperial decree arrives!!!"
The voice was drawn out very long, carrying the unique effeminacy of the palace.
Xu Youde's pupils shrank.
The private soldiers behind him instinctively raised their military crossbows.
The fast horse was reined in and stopped a dozen paces away from the crowd.
The warhorse reared up on its hind legs, letting out a neigh.
The figure on the horse dismounted, his movements clean and crisp.
It was an old man wearing a scarlet eunuch robe, his face expressionless, his eyelids drooping.
But beneath his feet, those palace cloud boots happened to step right onto the face of a corpse.
The corpse was not yet completely dead; a gurgling sound came from its throat, and its fingers twitched.
The old eunuch turned a blind eye to it, even grinding his toe into it to steady his footing.
The old eunuch lifted his eyelids, those eyes sweeping over the devastation on the ground, sweeping over Xu Youde and those murderous private soldiers.
There was not a single ripple in his gaze.
It was very calm.
"Patriarch Xu?" The old eunuch's voice was neither light nor heavy. "It's quite lively so early in the morning."
The veins bulged on the hand Xu Youde used to grip his sword.
But he still slowly, inch by inch, sheathed his sword.
He cupped his hands at the old eunuch, forcing a stiff smile onto his face.
"I have made a fool of myself before you, Eunuch. The house was burgled, and the servants were a bit heavy-handed."
"Is that so?" The old eunuch tugged at the corners of his mouth.
He did not dwell on this topic, instead lifting his chin.
The young eunuch behind him immediately understood, trembling as he raised the tray in front of him and lifted the yellow cloth.
"The edict of Emperor Tiansheng of the Great Qian Dynasty."
The old eunuch picked up the imperial decree from the tray and slowly unrolled it.
Just at the moment he unrolled the decree.
The corpse beneath his feet suddenly twitched, and a mouthful of bloody froth sprayed out, splashing right onto a corner of the imperial decree.
The breathing of the surrounding private soldiers stopped.
This was defiling an imperial decree, a capital offense punishable by the confiscation of property and extermination of the entire clan.
Yet the old eunuch did not even blink an eyelid.
He merely looked down at the drop of blood, extending an orchid-shaped finger to flick it.
The blood did not flick off; it merely smudged into a small patch.
He did not mind, continuing to use that unhurried tone, standing in the pool of blood, facing the corpses strewn across the ground, to read the imperial will.
"By the Grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"
"Qinghuan of the Xu Clan, County Princess of Jiangning, is virtuous and gentle in nature, harboring the world in her heart. In the time of the Northern Frontier's peril, she sacrificed her family's wealth to relieve the crisis, dispersing fifty thousand taels of family fortune, and presented the peerless military ration, the Xu Clan's meat brick, resolving the crisis of freezing and starvation for three thousand soldiers, making the northern borders of our Great Qian unassailable. Her merits lie with the state, and We are deeply gratified."
"Furthermore, she developed the Spinning Jenny, benefiting the nation and the people, which can fill the national treasury of the Great Qian and bring prosperity and joy to all the people. This is an unparalleled achievement."
"Upon hearing this, We are greatly pleased. We hereby specially confer upon Qinghuan of the Xu Clan the title of Commandery Princess Ci'an, with a fiefdom of three hundred households, and bestow a gold medallion and arrow token as a token of commendation."
"It is ordered that the Xu family of Jiangning immediately depart for the capital with her father Xu Youde to seek an audience with His Majesty, without delay!"
"Respect this"
...
"Commandery Princess?"
Xu Qinghuan's thoughts were pulled back by Li Sheng's soft call.
She blinked, looking at the bloodstained imperial decree on the nightstand, and smiled self-deprecatingly.
Commandery Princess Ci'an.
How ironic.
She had racked her brains, trying to make herself out to be a disaster-bringing enchantress, all to exchange for a one-way ticket to Lingnan.
In the end, her pot of dark cuisine, made with heavy oil, heavy salt, heavy sugar, and spiked with strong liquor.
Was officially certified, stamped, and became the peerless divine ration that saved the nation and the people.
She became a hero.
Became a Commandery Princess.
She hadn't gotten to eat the lychees of Lingnan, yet she was to be packed up and sent into the capital, the most cannibalistic vanity fair in the world.
Was there anything in this world with darker humor than this?
"Father," Xu Qinghuan turned her head, looking at Xu Youde, "can we just not accept this decree?"
Xu Youde was clumsily tucking in the corners of Xu Wuyou's quilt, and upon hearing this, he gave a bitter smile.
"Silly girl, that's an imperial decree, not an invitation to a restaurant."
"Accept it, and we take a trip to the dragon's pool and the tiger's den. Reject it, and this garden of our Xu family will have to be washed in blood once again."
He stood up and walked to Xu Qinghuan's side, his plump face written with worry.
"The capital is not Jiangning."
"There, silver is not omnipotent. You hold the cornucopia that is the spinning machine in your hands, and bear the empty title of a Commandery Princess. Who knows how many pairs of eyes are staring at us."
"This trip, I'm afraid..."
He didn't continue, but everyone understood the implication.
Xu Wuyou, who had remained silent all along, struggled a bit on the bed.
"Sister... goes... brother... also goes..." he said, his speech slurred.
Xu Qinghuan reached out and patted her brother's hand, signaling him to be at ease.
Her gaze, however, slowly grew resolute.
Yes, she had thought of everything too simply.
She had thought that as long as she disappeared, she could end this farce.
But only now did she understand that she was no longer alone.
If she left, what would happen to these people?
"Father," Xu Qinghuan raised her head, her eyes burning as she looked at Xu Youde, "we are going to the capital."
...
At the same moment.
Jiangning City, the Xie Manor.
In the Listening to the Pines Pavilion in the backyard, it was completely quiet.
Xie An, dressed in white, sat cross-legged before a chessboard.
He had lost quite a bit of weight; his originally refined cheeks were somewhat sunken, making his cheekbones appear high.
Opposite him sat a young man dressed in black.
"Master Xie." The young man asked, his voice carrying a sense of indifference, showing not a trace of discomfort at facing Xie An. "I heard that the newly conferred Commandery Princess of the Xu family is departing for the capital tomorrow."
Smack.
The white piece in the black-clad man's hand fell, striking the chessboard with a crisp sound.
Xie An held a white piece between his fingers, suspended in the air, not falling for a long time. His gaze fell upon the chessboard; it was a dead game. The white pieces were surrounded by the black pieces so tightly that not a drop of water could leak through, seemingly without a single possibility of breaking the deadlock.
