"Surprisingly Your Majesty the missing corpse of Her Highness was equally found as well along with her servant." Peng Zishou added and hearing this the Emperor stood up from where he was seated.
"What?" He asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Peng Zishou replied while all the Courtiers immediately exploded into murmurs and disorder while Han Touzhou and Minister Xie surrounded by the emotional mob of officials could certainly tell that there was something very wrong going on at that very awkward and appalling moment.
"Where?" Emperor Ningzong asked.
"Her Highness' corpse was unearthed in the backyard of Minister Xie's secret residence." Peng Zishou replied and all eyes turning to the old man immediately the Emperor looked at him nearly teary and furious.
"What?" The Emperor muttered.
"Forgive me Your Majesty but do not heed their words Sire, I couldn't have done that, this is a mistake and I have been framed." He pleaded as he went onto his knees before the Emperor and bowed his head.
"Bring in the documents." Peng Zishou demanded and a set of Eunuchs walking into the room holding a couple of ledgers in their hands and books they halted in front of the rest and bowing to the Emperor they offered the books to him.
"This is an account of all Minister Xie's dealings Your Majesty, this old man embezzled funds and then dealt with the Seigniors to purchase arms illegally, he raised a private army which we have in our custody at Shaoxing and considering the fact that he is a Seignior there's no clearer evidence than this to charge him with treason." Peng Zishou responded.
"That is preposterous." Han Touzhou eventually lashed out.
"Your Majesty has strengthened the merchant clans in the past couple of months and the Seigniors have naturally begrudged you, The Princess Imperial on the other hand colluded with them one way or another it must have been over the death of the Crown Prince Zhao Jun, all the other Seigniors have each been found in possession of arms as well and letters Conspiring against the Princess Imperial's life." Peng Zishou said and Minister Xie at that moment falling quiet the Emperor looked at him.
"What are you going to say to me now?" He asked while the latter bowed his head that the Emperor clenched his fists.
"I am a sinner Your Majesty." He responded weakly.
"You raise a private army next to the Capital, you embezzle funds, illegally deal in artillery and ammunition and worse, are involved whether actively or passively in Her Highness' murder?" The Emperor muttered while the latter barely having the courage to speak up the young man descended the stairs one by one slowly.
"What are we in your eyes Your Majesty?" He asked, "we are slaves that must do your bidding." He remarked when the latter halted right in front of him.
"She was an Imperial Princess, she was my flesh and blood." He muttered.
"Aren't we all surrounded by enemies Sure?" Minister Xie asked on his knees.
"I suppose so too." The Emperor agreed, "but who would have thought that one of those enemies would be right before my very own eyes?" He asked.
"You never get it do you?" Minister Xia asked while Han Touzhou at that moment found it a bit too strange he could hardly understand his old fella.
"Enlighten me." Emperor Ningzong said as he squated down when everyone was seeing him and looked at him in the eye.
"That stupid bitch Yang Guifei, that wench and malicious woman, my daughter entered the harem at roughly the same time that she did eight years ago, but do you even remember that innocent young girl who loved you, did you really care to know if she existed, she vanished without a trace like the wind, flew forgotten as a dream of your infatuation, but what's strange Your Majesty is that she never got the chance to tell you that at that very moment she was with your child." Minister Xie replied and hearing this the Emperor stood up as he recalled the familiar face he'd perhaps talked about.
"Xie Cairen?" He asked.
"We are enslaved by a mandate to heaven entrusted into your hands that we can not see, we break and burn to adorn the Crown, our soldiers who are brothers and sons die on battlefields in the name of it's honour." Minister Xie replied, "for me a daughter that I loved with all my heart died and was buried without even a tombstone, who is to tell if even her remnants never decayed to cause the Imperial gardens to fluorish, what is Your Majesty's excuse?" He asked as Han Touzhou watched everything silently at that time incapable of interfering.
"So you chose to kill the Princess Imperial?" Emperor Ningzong asked.
"Suppose I did Your Majesty, would you even understand the pain of losing anyone you love, in a blink of an eye you lost a mother and a father, two sons and a sister, you don't whimper, you don't shed a tear, you are very cold and heartless, you are the fiercest storm that I have ever seen." He responded.
"Your Sentence........ " The Emperor still saying he was interrupted.
"You will die a lonely man, all you'll see is darkness." Minister Xie said furiously and standing up to launch himself towards the Emperor he unsheathed the sword around Peng Zishou's waist and Eunuch Deng seeing everything he picked up one from the nearby guard as well and he threw it towards the latter while the Emperor withdrew a couple of feet behind.
Stabbing the aging man through his chest at once he halted in his advances and blood spilling from his mouth, he fell down while the Courtiers watched him.
The Emperor Ningzong frightened at the moment went silent but in the most dramatic and unexpected way, the Assembly had come to an end.
Yang Guifei arriving in her Chambers she sat down.
"Ma'am, the Seigniors are in the custody of the Imperial State Tribunal and Minister Xie was exposed even before His Majesty and died in the process of intending to harm him." Manyin said.
"How is His Majesty?" She asked.
"He must be devastated, the old Haggard man died cursing at both him and you." Manyin responded.
"And Han Touzhou?" Yang Guifei inquired.
"I heard he was quite surprised." Manyin replied.
"Walking with a man that long and he never seemed to even know the type of person that he really was." Yang Guifei mentioned.
"But how did you know this Ma'am?" Manyin asked.
"Everyone has secrets my dear, our intelligence was erected for this purpose, Han Touzhou supports Cao Zhaoyi but the same can't be said for the rest of the majority." She responded.
"I see." Manyin responded.
"As it is that what has happened has happen but that isn't entirely our main point of concern, as it so seems to me that right now it will be as good as useless if we can not take proper care of His Majesty." Yang Guifei said.
"What about His Majesty?" Xiaoyang asked.
"He is the most important piece in this game, therefore we must move him first if we wish to destroy our enemies." She responded.
"But how are we to do that Ma'am?" Manyin inquired and the latter falling silent with a rather devious expression on her face, she seemed to have been waiting for that very question at the time.
"The current state of affairs is chaotic." Han Touzhou mentioned.
"The future seems to become more unpredictable, just as much as Yang Guifei is." Cao Zhaoyi mentioned.
"Perhaps His Majesty might postpone the Dinner." Han Touzhou mentioned.
"He won't." Cao Zhaoyi confirmed, "Yang Guifei might have done everything but I am sure that couldn't have been the motive at all." She added.
"What is it that you suggest Ma'am, now that we're in a tough spot." He inquired.
"Who would have thought!" Cao Zhaoyi exclaimed, "it is in deed so true." She added.
"Yang Guifei is much harder to contain and over and over again we keep on losing." Han Touzhou mentioned.
"If this goes on, we can never beat her at her game." Cao Zhaoyi mentioned, "everything must be planned, from the day, the hour, the night, it's likely that it's all precise."she mentioned.
"I never thought about that." Han Touzhou said.
"Why would she allow me to have my dinner first before her, I get that she doesn't want an excuse from us in the end, I know it's partly because she'd have to disregard public scrutiny but there's something off about it." Cao Zhaoyi mentioned.
"The Imperial Princess' murder, it couldn't possibly be something coincidental and she'd had too many chances of setting the residence in fire but why did she wait now?" Han Touzhou questioned.
"I still don't get it though, the ones that have been hurt the most in this are the Seigniorage and for Conspiring against the throne all fourteen supporters we have will most likely be stripped of their property and wealth, it shall be transferred into either the hands of the Crown or to another individual." Cao Zhaoyi mentioned.
"It's logical but to get the appointment to the rank of Empress in one single night won't be easy." Han Touzhou mentioned.
"All events in this ruse are sequenced." Cao Zhaoyi said.
"How so Ma'am?" Han Touzhou asked.
"First the proclamation about the appointment of an Empress and then the murder of the Imperial Princess, in a short while and a single whiff our support has been weakened and we lack the backing of the Seigniorage." Cao Zhaoyi mentioned.
"She wants a clean pass." Han Touzhou mentioned.
"Yes." Cao Zhaoyi mentioned, "even if we triunph it shall be laden with resistance from her people but her triumph is to ensure that there's as minimised resistance as people." She asserted.
"Very crafty in deed." Han Touzhou remarked.
"We break the sequence." Cao Zhaoyi mentioned.
"Pardon me Ma'am, and how do you suggest we do that?" Han Touzhou asked.
"Her Grace uses Heaven's will to justify most of her motives publicly, we can as well use our own to justify ours." Cao Zhaoyi muttered as she smiles at herself ghastly.
Emperor Ningzong walking through the gardens he was lost in his thoughts as he so happened to recall everything that had happened before him.
As he moved towards his quarters, he found Yang Guifei who was pacing around in panic and the latter recognizing his presence she rushed towards him.
"Your Majesty?" She said to him.
"Guifei!" He exclaimed much surprised by her presence.
They strode about the place together in silence and Yang Guifei out of 'concern' she spoke up to him.
"I heard that very many things went down at the Imperial Grand Hall." She mentioned.
"Yes." He responded in a sombre tone.
"What's wrong Your Majesty?" Yang Guifei inquired from him.
"Do you think that I'm a bad Emperor?" He asked.
"What makes you say that Your Majesty?" Yang Guifei asked.
"An old Courtier, an influential one died in the Court hall." He responded.
"He was attacking Your Majesty." She responded.
"He had a reason to do so." The Emperor Ningzong muttered.
"No." Yang Guifei said.
"This Country that I inherited was Great when I came to the throne but all that has happened ever since on my watch was to see it fall apart." He remarked.
"Surely." Yang Guifei replied, "how many people have been sacrificed for this Monarchy?" She asked and the Emperor looked at her while she smiled at him.
"I don't know." He responded.
"You are an Emperor, you are trying, you can not meet people everywhere they want you, you can not give them everything that they want." She remarked.
"But if I can not give people....." He was saying when she interfered.
"You are a mortal man and you are not God, you are the son of heaven and the light of the people not what they need." She said.
"But when I falter, my enemies harm those that are closest to me, I can't help but wonder why bad things happen to the people that I love." He mentioned.
"You have me." Yang Guifei said, "I'll never leave you and it's not like anything will happen to me." She mentioned.
"But I worry." He said.
"Of course you do." Yang Guifei muttered as she hugged him tightly and he caressed her back.
"For a moment there I didn't know what it is that I could have done in this world without you." He muttered.
"The Imperial Princess has to be granted a proper funeral as a member of the Dynasty, Shi Miyuan I had is having a hard time, all in all if Your Majesty wishes, you can have the day for the dinner extended." She muttered.
"Perhaps." Emperor Ningzong remarked, "but Everytime that the elevation comes around why is it that someone must die?" He inquired.
"What makes you think that Your Majesty?" Yang Guifei asked.
"First the Crown Prince and now Her Highness." Emperor Ningzong replied.
"Do not worry." Yang Guifei mentioned as she tightly held onto him yet again, "we'll get through this." She assured the young man who at the moment broken was wrapped within her finger herself smiling behind his back.
Han Touzhou arriving in his Chambers while accompanied by Lin Xue he sat down before the latter that seemed to notice how unsettled he was.
"What's the matter Your Excellency?" He asked.
"Cao Zhaoyi must have a move against Yang Guifei, meanwhile, it is my earnest wish that I prepare for the worst." He responded.
"What should I do Your Excellency?" Lin Xue inquired.
"I need you to prepare a series of those emergency reports from the North." Han Touzhou responded.
"Yes Sir." Lin Xue agreed as he bowed his head before withdrawing from the room.
Yang Guifei returning to her secret room, she found most of her supporters waiting on her but ignoring them she sat down quietly and with her right hand she chose to support her head.
"Ma'am?" Yang Cishan said to her after he noticed that she was absent minded while she responded with silence.
"Please say something Ma'am?" Master Bao pleaded with the latter that she in turn raised her eyes and looked at him.
"We have minimized opposition, His Majesty shall strip all those Seigniors of their property, they were no different from rebels as it is, everything that they owned and found pride in we should control." She responded.
"I heard that they were furious about the growing influence of the merchant clans." Jinglan mentioned.
"Ma'am, we can not give the economy straight away into the hands of those greedy merchants as well." The Grand Chancellor remarked.
"Surely." Yang Guifei replied, "but much of the land that is owned in the Empire is occupied by those wealthy land owners and a majority of it is idle while the poor are no different from serfs and squatters on their land." She pointed out.
"We won't cause the Seigniors to give up their land to that easily." Master Bao mentioned.
"Then we shall buy it from them at a very good price because eventually they shall give up that fight and bend." She responded.
"Suppose they don't Ma'am?" The Grand Chancellor Zhao Zizhi inquired.
"They will break." Yang Guifei responded as she smiled at herself ghastly.
"What are you going to do Your Majesty?" Eunuch Deng asked.
"Those Seigniors were rebels." The young man replied.
"They killed the Princess Imperial, they colluded with our enemies Sire." Eunuch Deng mentioned.
"But they are still my people." He replied, "they felt compelled in the name of safeguarding their own interests which I neglected." He added.
"But the world belongs to Your Zhao Clan Sire, and the people they mistreated were your people, they take for granted your presence in Court and your benevolence, must they pull your limits?" He asked.
"I want to hear them out." He responded.
"Sire?" Eunuch Deng protested.
"Please." He pleaded and the latter without any more of a choice left just had to agree.
Yang Guifei seated quietly in her Chambers for a moment Manyin stood beside her and judging from the expression that she wore, the young woman would tell that she seemed worried.
"Is there anything wrong Ma'am?" She asked.
"Every success however small is a heavy sigh to me." She responded.
"How so Ma'am?" She asked.
"Do you know one thing about always being the bad guy in every story?" She inquired.
"No." Manyin responded.
"All those machinations, all those devious schemes, there's never a moment in which you can rest without respite from anxiety." Yang Guifei responded when the doors of the room being slid open Xiaoyang walked in.
"Ma'am?" She said bowing her head to her.
"How are the preparations?" She asked.
"Ready." She responded.
"That's good." Yang Guifei remarked.
"But Superintendent Beiyuan was seeking to have an audience with Your Grace." She said.
"Let him in." Yang Guifei accepted the offer generously and the latter withdrawing from her presence, a short while later the young man walked in.
"Ma'am?" He said to her.
"You wished to see me?" She asked.
"Yes." He responded, "I am afraid that there might be some trouble." He asserted.
"Which trouble?" She inquired looking him in the eye.
"His Majesty." Beiyuan responded in hesitation.
"What about him?" She asked.
"He insisted on going to see the Seigniors." Beiyuan responded.
"His Majesty did what?" Yang Guifei sought a confirmation.
"He insists on going to the Imperial State Tribunal to question the Seigniors himself." He replied.
"Is that so?" Yang Guifei inquired.
"Yes." The young man confirmed.
"If he listens to them, he might grant them a pardon Ma'am and surely, I don't think it's something that we'd want." Manyin said.
"He is benevolent after all, it's a nature that we can't possibly make him get rid of." She asserted.
"It's either he meets them or doesn't." Beiyuan said.
"And how shall you stop him?" Yang Guifei asked.
"The dead tell no tales and fire halts at the lack of fuel." He responded.
"Without wood gossip will die out?" Yang Guifei asked.
"Obviously." He agreed.
"But the reputation of the Crown is on the line, one hasty move is enough to eradicate our hard earned efforts and in war it's necessary that we deprive our enemies of any form of public sympathies." Yang Guifei mentioned.
"Ma'am, it's a big gamble to let them meet His Majesty." Beiyuan protested.
"I understand but what evidence have they against us?" She asked while he kept quiet and she smiled at him reassured.
"You are panicking for nothing and if His Majesty is really gracious then our best weapon to kill them is the public." Yang Guifei mentioned, "secure the people's opinion, they should demand for their heads at sunrise." She added as she smiled at herself ghastly.
"Yes Ma'am." Beiyuan replied.
The Seigniors in custody, a couple of them in chains were unconscious, in one solitary cell however there was a single old man that sat facing the small window that let out only a simple beam of the wan moonlight.
Suddenly, he heard the doors being opened and the chains themselves shaking, before long there were mild footsteps as someone descended the stairs.
"What are you doing here?" The man asked.
"Won't you care to recognize me first?" The unexpected visitor asked which compelled the old man to turn around and see who it was.
"Your Majesty." He said while bowing his head.
"Minister Xie is dead, you must have heard the news by now." He mentioned.
"Yes." The man replied.
"I am curious however." The Emperor Ningzong confessed.
"What does Your Majesty wish to know?" He asked.
"Why did you do this in the first place?" He inquired.
"Why Your Majesty?" He re echoed his words.
"What did I do wrong, what did the Princess Imperial do wrong?" He inquired.
"Was Her Highness ever happy?" The latter responded, "how much did you care to know how she felt or what it was that she was going through?" He spoke on top of his voice while the Emperor reserved his silence.
"It's true that the Princess Imperial was buying artillery and ammunition from us, it's true that we were mobilizing a private army, first in the interest of forcing Your Majesty to abdicate and us installing the Crown Prince, but just like that he succumbed and our hopes were shattered along, eventually the Princess Imperial grew out of patience and she'd perhaps enthrone a Prince of the Dynasty after adopting him to declare herself the Empress Mother and Regent, but all that wasn't in the fact that she resented you too much, just that she'd staked her life fighting that poisonous snake Yang Guifei." The man replied.
"And what has she done to you?" The Emperor Ningzong asked.
"She's bewitched you Sire." The man replied.
"I see." Emperor Ningzong mentioned, "I suppose you are all afraid of my affections for her nonetheless." He added.
"What's happened ever since she returned to the Palace Your Majesty, first it was Her Highness the Empress Mother and then the Empress, the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince, how many more people will it take to open your eyes Your Majesty?" The old man asked.
"You tell me what she's done, is her silence a cause for envy, is it her lowborn nature, all in all you supported the Princess and became rebels because you wanted to protect your privileges under the guise of loyalty to this Dynasty, you would rather enthrone a puppet Emperor to dance to your tunes and fulfill your wishes." Emperor Ningzong mentioned.
"Yang Guifei will be a shadow on the reign of Your Majesty." The man asserted.
"And what about my people that the Seigniors have oppressed?" He asked.
"And Your Majesty trusts that the Merchant Clans shall become more lenient?" He asked.
"I have hope in my people." He said.
"People are the same Your Majesty, we are a race of creatures driven by greed, lust, vengeance and jealousy, the more we have, the more we'll want, it's the reality of life, it's the way we live until the way we die." The man replied.
"Is there really no hint of remorse in your heart?" He asked.
"We can be anything but sorry Your Majesty, Change can build a nation and similarly, it can destroy it." The man replied which forced the young man to turn around.
"Is this your resolve?" He asked.
"Darker days are yet to come Your Majesty because the day that Yang Guifei rises to the Phoenix throne, that will be the beginning of the end." The man replied and the infuriated Emperor marching from the scene, the man behind the bars sat down on the hay under his feet and bowed his head looking at the ground.
"She will cast a shadow over your reign Your Majesty." He kept on saying to himself and laughing in tears, his hair falling before him, with his hands together, he covered his red eyes.
Eunuch Deng walking about the place, the doors to the underground dungeons were opened and the Emperor furiously marching out, the latter intercepted him halfway.
"Please appease your anger Your Majesty." He said.
"How dare he?" He asked as he clenched his fists.
"I warned you Your Majesty, your presence to this rebel was unwanted, it has only infuriated you." Eunuch Deng remarked.
"I don't understand." Emperor Ningzong mentioned.
"Is there anything that I can do for you Sire?" He asked.
"Xie Cairen." He responded, "I wanted to know what happened to her." He added.
"I can ask around in the harem." He responded.
"No." Emperor Ningzong muttered.
"Your Majesty, is there a problem?" He inquired.
"I want you to investigate everything in person and you should inform only me, not Yang Guifei, not the Grand Empress Dowager, but me." Emperor Ningzong responded.
"Yes Your Majesty." Eunuch Deng replied as he bowed his head and the Emperor Ningzong still displeased, he walked back into the directions of the Imperial Palace while Eunuch Deng looking at the two guards, he kowtowed to them before he followed his master.
A couple of people in a bar they were having their dinner at a table while drinking liquor and Bao Langya joining them they were joking.
"Have you heard that there's a Courtier that took his life in the Grand Hall?" One of the men asked.
"Yes, I heard that he was attacking the Emperor." Another responded.
"What in the world was he thinking?" Another muttered.
"Such people have questionable mental faculties." The other responded.
"But I heard from some people that he was a Jurchen spy and his guise in the Southern Song Court was blown." Another asserted.
"They are all lies." Bao Langya interrupted.
"How sure can you be?" They inquired from him.
"My Cousin is part of the Closest guard to His Majesty." He responded.
"Are you serious?" They asked him yet again while he pretended to be drunk nonetheless with small hints of soberness.
"Yes." He affirmed before them.
"What really happened?" One asked.
"Her Highness the Princess Imperial was murdered yesterday and prior to the Court sitting the State Tribunal had already carried out an investigation which found the assassination to have been the handiwork of a number of powerful Seigniors." He replied.
"Seigniors...!" They seemed surprised as they looked at each other.
"Ever since His Majesty empowered the Merchant clans and very many people indulged themselves in the lucrative trade rather than be enslaved on the lands of those greedy men, they wanted to use the Princess Imperial to stage a coup de tat and bring in another Imperial Prince on the throne that they would manipulate to protect their feudal powers and privileges." He responded.
"How greedy they must be having fattened themselves on the sweat of our hardwork that they couldn't help it but want more." One remarked.
"So you are saying that the Princess Imperial was supposed to enable them install a new Prince as Emperor then doesn't that make her a rebel as well?" They asked.
"What do you know, the Princess Imperial was merely coerced being weak a woman, besides her husband is a powerful official at Court and regardless of their pressure exerted on her, she became unyielding and threatening to expose them it was only for their own good to get rid of her." Bao Langya responded.
"And His Majesty had to go through this how tragic!" They exclaimed.
"But those Seigniors are as well heroes to their other fellas don't you think and if other Seigniors join forces to have them spared we shall go back to being treated worse than animals." Bao Langya remarked.
"What can we do?" They asked him.
"His Majesty may be the ruler of this nation but it isn't the throne that makes him so." Bao Langya responded, "I move that as the people we move His Majesty and support him, those men should be executed so that we may show those greedy bastards exactly to whom this Country belongs." He said.
"Certainly." The men started to agree and before long the flame had been ignited.
The sun rising over the Capital, the people in protest were outside the Imperial State Tribunal.
"Kill those Greedy men, hang the Rebels, make them heavily pay." Their cries resounded throughout the Capital and the Emperor Ningzong seated in his study and lost in his thoughts, the Grand Chancellor Zhao Zizhi walked up to his doors.
"Your Excellency." Eunuch Deng said.
"Is His Majesty inside?" He inquired.
"Yes." He responded.
"I wish to see him." Zhao Zizhi requested.
"He wishes to be alone." Eunuch Deng replied.
"It's very urgent." The latter insisted.
"I understand but I am following orders." He said.
"Must you really........" Zhao Zizhi inquired.
"He is already having a hard time." Eunuch Deng said.
"This is even harder." Zhao Zizhi muttered as he raised his hand and handed over a golden scroll.
"What is this?" Eunuch Deng asked.
"At least deliver this to His Majesty." Zhao Zizhi the Grand Chancellor insisted, "it's a drafted Imperial Decree that's waiting for His Majesty's approval." He said.
"A decree?" Eunuch Deng inquired.
"Social order has collapsed, the people know the secrets of the Imperial Court and they are angry at the Rebel Seigniors." The Grand Chancellor responded, "it's in our best interests that His Majesty handles this issue because for the safety of the Monarchy, this case is sufficient to brew discontentment that could crumble the Crown." He added.
"Alright then, I shall talk to His Majesty, you wait here." Eunuch Deng said as he turned around and walked into the room leaving the old man impatiently waiting outside.
"What!" Emperor Ningzong exclaimed.
"I don't know How Your Majesty, the people are infuriated, rumours already have it that the Seigniors attempted a rebellion, they were already unpopular to begin with, there's violent protests in the capital and they are each advocating for a death sentence." Eunuch Deng muttered.
"It couldn't certainly be so." Emperor Ningzong said.
"Does Your Majesty wish to protect those men?" He asked.
"More than anything else." He replied, "I am to blame for their transgressions, how is it that I could find peace?" He muttered.
"What about the children of those that were oppressed, what about the reputation of the Imperial family, how is it that they shall be safe Sire?" He asked and the young man responded with silence for a while before he spoke up.
"But they are my people." He said.
"And they are sinners." Eunuch Deng pressed, "if you don't punish rebels and give them the sentence they deserve, to some you might seem a coward, other loyal citizens might be encouraged to revolt against the regime." He added.
"I agree Your Majesty." Lan He backed him unwillingly.
"You too?" The Emperor said very much disappointed.
"It's Your Majesty before anyone else in my perception of things, it is my solemn duty that had I been present none of them would have retained their pieces intact, regimes start to weaken the very moment that monarchs cease to exercise whatsoever power they have, learn from this Your Majesty, I beg that you do not commit yourself to the same fate." He responded.
"Is it right?" He asked.
"For the Zhao State Your Majesty, for the Great Southern Song Dynasty, now isn't a moment to be weak, bury that remorse and decide like an Emperor." Eunuch Deng asserted and the Emperor taking a deep breath he looked at the seal that was right beside him.
"I can not be blamed, may the Heavens forgive my sins, after all as a man my cause is sympathy, but as a Monarch it is justice." He spoke to himself and Eunuch Deng watching the young man earnestly he raised the seal and placed it onto the Imperial Edict that had been drafted.
For a moment certain that the document had been sealed, he relaxed his strength and lifted the Jade seal to return it to its pad and Eunuch Deng carefully ceasing the Edict, he read through to clarify that there were no mistakes and bowing his head he withdrew from the young Emperor's presence.
"This will pass Your Majesty." Lan He mentioned.
"Why is it so painful?" The Emperor asked him as he raised his eyes and stared carefully at him seemingly unshaken by anything.
"Because that's how much you valued their trust, it's how hard they broke it." He replied.
Eunuch Deng returning outside the building, the Grand Chancellor Zhao Zizhi rushed towards him.
"Did you get it?" He asked the young man who stretching his hand out to him he handed over the Edict which the latter unfolded and looked through.
"This is it." He said, "it's the Imperial Seal." He added.
"You got what you wanted." Eunuch Deng said.
"You seem displeased." The Grand Chancellor mentioned.
"His Majesty has consented that those men be killed, what is the guarantee that other Seigniors shall be kept in order?" He asked.
"Even if they went disorderly, they are as good as poor, besides His Majesty was willing to save them but it's simply because their sin was grave, he has but merely set an example for others to follow so don't worry so much about it, you'll end up tiring yourself." The Grand Chancellor responded.
"I hope this is a decision that we won't regret." Eunuch Deng mentioned.
"Rest assured, Her Grace won't let us down, your worry is simply for nothing." The Grand Chancellor said as he patted his shoulder while smiling at himself ghastly.
Yang Guifei and her supporters seated in a small detached room, Beiyuan walked into their midst and bowing his head to them he turned and faced his mistress.
"Any News from the Imperial Palace?" She asked.
"Yes." He responded.
"What did His Majesty decide?" She inquired.
"As you had predicted Ma'am, he felt the pressure from the mobs, out of reluctance he sealed the Imperial order, and as I speak it shall be carried out at the hour of noon in the Public City Square." Beiyuan responded.
"Alas, he is the benevolent Emperor and father of his people, now the greatest shield of our enemies will crumble." She muttered.
"Congratulations Ma'am." Yang Cishan mentioned.
"Not just yet." Yang Guifei muttered, "Not so soon." She added as she looked at them.
"Tomorrow Ma'am, you'll become the Empress of this Country." Jinglan mentioned.
"Unless the battle is decisively won, there's never a victor if it's still in motion." Yang Guifei replied, "situations shift like the sands of the desert at the very least the closer it may seem the more cautious we should be." She remarked.
"Don't worry Ma'am, all things shall certainly work out for our good." Yang Cishan assured.
"In that case, our presence can reassure the people, His Majesty might not be present, the harem should represent him well." Yang Guifei said as she turned to Beiyuan, "invite Cao Zhaoyi, she should have a clear view." She said with a smile.
"Yes Ma'am." Beiyuan responded.
Cao Zhaoyi quiet Linxiang in front of her kept her head down.
"Her Grace Yang Guifei has made arrangements, you shall be joining her to represent the Imperial family at noon in the City Square while the Seigniors are being beheaded.
"Alright, you may leave." Cao Zhaoyi mentioned and the young woman immediately withdrew from the room leaving her alone with Han Touzhou.
"Ma'am......" He was saying when she interrupted.
"No." Cao Zhaoyi yelled as she smacked the table with her fist.
"Yang Guifei is no easy person." Han Touzhou remarked, "we are now much weaker thanks to her, she chose the best time to act." He added.
"His Majesty having issued a death warrant by Imperial Decree isn't something that we can take back, at this rate all our supporters shall be in fright." Cao Zhaoyi mentioned.
"They already are." Han Touzhou mentioned.
"You can't be serious." Cao Zhaoyi said.
"Yang Guifei had already been scheming before she delivered, she held captive all the sons and daughters of her opposition and they went missing, they were forced to sell portions of their land and liquidate some of their assets to accumulate ransoms to pay back, even if they stood behind us, they are lacking in the finances to back us up." Han Touzhou responded.
"The situation is getting more and more complicated on our side." Cao Zhaoyi mentioned.
"Once the Seigniors are executed at noon, Yang Guifei might as well become the most powerful woman in the land, we are backed in a corner, we have but only one more hope." Han Touzhou asserted.
"And we can not miss." Cao Zhaoyi mentioned while the two fell silently for a moment, "but this is our best time." She added.
"What can I do Ma'am?" Han Touzhou asked and the latter placing an envelope onto the table he picked it up.
"What is this Ma'am?" He asked.
"Yang Guifei will be watching, she'll know, we have ears and eyes around us, this is the only way that we can strike her when she least expects it." Cao Zhaoyi replied as she smiled at herself.
It was approaching noon and the people were already gathered in the City Square, a small raised pavilion had been erected for both Yang Guifei and Cao Zhaoyi and there were two chairs that had been stationed in it's place with a small table between them.
The people gathered at a distance, Yang Guifei and Cao Zhaoyi approaching from two different directions they halted in front of each other and bowed their heads to offer their respects.
"I thought that you wouldn't turn up." Yang Guifei remarked.
"It's an important occasion for the Imperial house and we must watch out for His Majesty, it isn't Everytime that the people see us." Cao Zhaoyi responded and the two ladies mounting the stairs that led to their seats, they each sat down.
Amidst the emotional cheering of the people, only minutes later the Seigniors whose faces had been covered with sacks were brought before the congregation and alarmingly dressed like peasants their clothes drenched in blood, the people started throwing stones at them one by one.
"Go to hell." They shouted, "you monstrous beasts," they cried aloud, "you don't even deserve to live." They protested and the guards leading them to the centre they forced them onto their knees in front of both Yang Guifei and Cao Zhaoyi.
She looked at Yang Cishan who nodded his head and at that moment raising his hand to the others, they removed the sacks that had been covering the faces of her rivals while Cao Zhaoyi watched.
Staring at Yang Guifei the oldest spat on the ground.
"Yang Guifei you monstress." He shouted but she retained her silence, "you shall suffer a more humiliating death than mine." He claimed but the young woman still maintaining her composure and silence she looked more graceful than ever as the Grand Chancellor Zhao Zizhi ceased that opportunity to speak up.
"LORD JI AND HIS COMRADES ON THIS DAY HAVE RECEIVED THE JUDGEMENT OF HEAVEN, THEY COLLUDED WITH ONE ANOTHER AND ASSASSINATED THE PRINCESS IMPERIAL, EMBEZZLED FUNDS AND RAISED A PRIVATE ARMY TO SIEZE THE CAPITAL BY FORCE AND USURP THE THRONE OF HIS SOVEREIGN MAJESTY, BY IMPERIAL LAW THEREFORE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE PEOPLE, HIS MAJESTY THOUGH BENEVOLENT HIS DISRESPECTED AFFECTIONS HAVE DRIVEN HIM TO PERFORM HIS DUTY TO THIS NATION WHICH IS SUPREME AND JUST, ON THIS VERY DAY AT THE HOUR OF NOON, LORD JI AND ALL HIS SUCCESSORS SHALL BE EXECUTED BY BEHEADING." He read the Imperial Edict and eventually folding it, the criminals were all led to the fourteen posts on which their heads were laid.
The fourteen executioners stationing themselves right behind them while holding their sabres, they waved them in synchrony and beheaded them while a couple of Courtiers were watching they were themselves frightened eventually, Han Touzhou himself looking at Yang Guifei who was across couldn't help but look away.
"Such a remarkable scene!" Yang Guifei exclaimed.
"Surely Ma'am." Cao Zhaoyi responded.
"What did you think those men did wrong in life Zhaoyi?" She asked.
"Your Grace wishes to say that they made you an enemy?" She responded.
"The Crown takes presence, no one achieves from doing nothing, in fact, history wasn't made by those who did nothing." Yang Guifei remarked.
"Is this simply about the Crown?" Cao Zhaoyi asked.
"My strife and yours is a blend of both political and personal reasons however all I have come to learn until now is that the world must learn to believe that my enemies are not only mistaken but sinful." Yang Guifei responded.
"Your actions Ma'am I tell you, they shall be the very ones that damage this crown." Cao Zhaoyi confronted her.
"Nothing is more immoral than the doctrine that force is collectively to be prostituted to support my enemies' power without any consideration of the extent to which it has been abused." Yang Guifei mentioned while Cao Zhaoyi infuriated she ceased the left arm of her seat tightly.
"Face it Zhaoyi, the sooner the better, you are without both physically and psychological reserves to resist me." She boasted.
"So this spectacle was no less than a warning to me from Your Grace?" Cao Zhaoyi inquired
"This before you is the bitter part of the story of those men, they won't get to write their end, they were vanquished by my hand, such should be a very good example of the plans that I possess for those that choose to stand against me." Yang Guifei muttered.
"You best understand Ma'am, it isn't like I shall change my mind." Cao Zhaoyi confidently spoke.
"Surely." Yang Guifei replied.
"Then why is it that you bother?" She asked.
"Because this is history my dear, it is written in blood, on my part in particular I wish you best understand, it's the blood of my enemies." Yang Guifei replied.
"Don't worry Ma'am, I certainly know the type of person that you are." Cao Zhaoyi assured her
"Yes my dear," Yang Guifei muttered, "yes you do." She confirmed as she smiled at herself amidst the loud cheering of the crowds and the bleeding headless bodies before them.
Emperor Ningzong standing at the balcony of the Grand Palace, Eunuch Deng then appeared after him.
"Your Majesty." He said bowing his head.
"They must be dead by now." Emperor Ningzong muttered.
"Yes Your Majesty, they passed at the exact hour of noon." He responded and the Emperor turned around and looked at him.
"Such a tragic death, don't you think?" Emperor Ningzong inquired.
"In deed." Eunuch Deng responded, "Yang Guifei and Cao Zhaoyi turned up to witness it As representatives of both the Imperial house and the Inner Court knowing that Your Majesty wouldn't make it, I can assure you that it wasn't so terrible towards the image of the Crown." Eunuch Deng replied.
"Alright." Emperor Ningzong replied.
"You don't look well Your Majesty." Eunuch Deng remarked.
"I just feel fatigued." The Emperor replied.
"Is this about the Empress selection dinner?" Eunuch Deng asked.
"There's an atmosphere of negativity, the Monarchy has never been more fragile, the choice of an Empress, it might in the very least please the people." Emperor Ningzong replied.
"Yes Your Majesty." Eunuch Deng agreed with the young man.
"You should have seen the look on her face." Cao Zhaoyi muttered as she barged into her room and furiously moving to her usual seat, she sat down next to her table.
"The Seigniors perished before her very own eyes, they perished by her hand." Linxiang remarked.
"It is now." Cao Zhaoyi mentioned as she clenched her fists.
"Yes Ma'am." Linxiang agreed with her as she smiled at herself ghastly.
"I wish to see for myself how long she will keep smiling about this." Cao Zhaoyi confessed hatefully in the silence and uneasy mood the engulfed the whole room, her heart beating so hard as though it were bound to leap from her chest any time soon.
Yang Guifei on the other hand arriving inside her Chambers she sat down as well while Manyin and Xiaoyang halted right in front of her.
"Ma'am, the Seigniors are dead, shouldn't you be happy?" Xiaoyang asked.
"Perhaps." She replied, "but there's something awfully wrong about Cao Zhaoyi." She added.
"How can you claim so?" Xiaoyang inquired.
"I have known her well enough since young I believe, close to the last thirty five years or more there was never a moment in which she seemed confident against me." Yang Guifei replied.
"It's likely that you are overthinking Ma'am." Xiaoyang pressed.
"There's a new determination in her that I heralded, it was the advent of a very great foe unlike any that I had ever seen." Yang Guifei mentioned.
"There truly is a cause for suspicion when you say it Ma'am, you are closer to your dream now more than ever there can't be even the slightest bit of laxity." Manyin suddenly spoke in the young woman's favour.
"Hasn't it been much too eventful a day?" Xiaoyang insisted.
"Suppose it is." Yang Guifei muttered, "I need to ensure that every single move that Cao Zhaoyi is making is under my absolute control, that it's out of my perfect knowledge, that it's in my deepest understanding." She claimed when the doors of the room were flung open and at that moment Beiyuan appeared before her.
"Ma'am?" He said breathing heavily himself.
"What is it?" Yang Guifei inquired.
"We happened to intercept a message that was travelling out of the Palace from Cao Zhaoyi." He responded as he got the piece of paper in his hands and handed it over to the latter who took it in her own and she perused through the contents.
"What does it say Ma'am?" Manyin immediately asked her mistress who in hesitation she folded the piece of paper and looked at Beiyuan.
"What is this?" She asked.
"The Seigniors upon the hour of death, their sentence preceeded his Majesty stripping them of their personal wealth and his relatives last night before the verdict was rich liquidated all of their assets, we could only purchase a third of them." Beiyuan responded.
"What?" Xiaoyang asked.
"When we were busy sleeping, our enemies were scheming." Yang Guifei muttered.
"Ma'am, does this mean that we failed?" Manyin inquired.
"It's very likely." She responded, "we don't know who purchased those properties, that wealth and those assets, without them our control of the Seigniorage might seem close to impossible." She remarked.
"Cao Zhaoyi was certain that those men would not be spared, somehow, she must have learnt that she was the fake target and the real one was the Seigniorage." Beiyuan claimed.
"Such a good student." Yang Guifei responded.
"There's only one day to the feast Ma'am.
"This scandal couldn't be one without purpose." Manyin remarked.
"You bet in deed there isn't a reason she'd make such a powerful move at such a time." She responded.
"What do we do Ma'am?" Beiyuan inquired.
"Keep a close eye on both Han Touzhou and Cao Zhaoyi." Yang Guifei responded, "find out the people that bought the wealth and properties and which properties in particular." She ordered.
"Yes Ma'am." Everyone replied in unison and bowing their heads to her, they simultaneously withdrew from the room leaving their mistess discontented.
Cao Zhaoyi impatiently waiting, Linxiang returned before her.
"Ma'am?" She said bowing her head to her.
"Tell me what happened?" She demanded earnestly.
"In deed, the message was intercepted." She replied and the latter smiled at herself.
"Then she should be aware." Cao Zhaoyi muttered.
"What are we going to do Ma'am?" Linxiang inquired.
"At this point Yang Guifei should be having a couple of questions and her suspicion isn't something that we could easily subdue." Cao Zhaoyi responded, "deliver this ledger to Han Touzhou in secret and tell him to appoint people to guard it." She ordered as she handed over the small book to Linxiang who ceased it in her hands and tucking it under her sleeve, she withdrew from the room.
Stepping outside the building and swiftly making her way across the Courtyard, a couple of men watching her they followed closely as she arrived at the western gate of the Palace.
Raising her hand and showing a seal to the guards, they opened and she slipped through while being followed still until she arrived outside Han Touzhou's manor in front of one of the guards.
She knocked at the door and the doors being opened Lin Xue appeared while the young woman sneakily pulled out the book and handed it over to him while he gave her an envelope which she took in her hands before running away.
The men watching everything they split up and one of them moved back up to the Imperial guards where Bao Langya was standing at one of the Palace battlements and whispered to him.
Yang Guifei in the darkness of her room, Xiaoyang announced the presence of Bao Langya whom she admitted into her presence and he got closer himself.
"Any news?" He asked.
"Cao Zhaoyi's closest Lady in waiting delivered a book to Han Touzhou's manor and she received a letter from him in the process, we don't know what it contains but it can't be good." Bao Langya responded when Beiyuan walked back in as well.
"Ma'am?" He said.
"Anything new?" She inquired.
"The Courtiers of Han Touzhou have all received letters from him." He responded as he got a white envelope from his sleeve which he handed over to Yang Guifei who took it without any hesitation and opening it, she started to look through its contents.
"What does it say Ma'am?" Bao Langya asked.
"He's appealing to them to have the day for the elevation pushed by three more days." She responded as she rested the paper on the table.
"Why?" Bao Langya asked.
"First the wealth of those Seigniors and now a postponement, we can't let them raise this issue in the daily Assembly tomorrow, the recent events seem to have been hard on His Majesty but the worst bit is that their influence may deter his decision." Yang Guifei responded.
"This is now getting more and more complicated Ma'am." Beiyuan remarked.
"Perhaps not at all." Yang Guifei muttered.
"What are you going to do Ma'am?" Bao Langya inquired.
"It's simple, we should bring them all together." Yang Guifei mentioned.
"Bring them all together, what do you mean Ma'am?" Beiyuan asked.
"There's only one way to end this," Yang Guifei asserted.
"Ma'am........?" Bao Langya called to her hesitantly.
"My lenience makes me more anxious and I am foolish to believe that Cao Zhaoyi will give up the fight, we are going to break her." Yang Guifei replied.