Jingren Palace was now left in the care of the inner attendants and bodyguards.
Jiang Tongqing had witnessed the Noble Consort’s graceful but ferocious kick that sent Wei Guangmei flying, and the Emperor’s effortless catch of a nearly one-hundred-jin rosewood chair midair. Always stone-faced, the Grand Marshal twitched his brow and, without a word, accepted his orders. He led the Imperial Guards from the palace at top speed. His forces split into two teams and moved before the other noble families and lords even realized what had happened, taking down both the Han and Wei families at once.
In a matter of moments, the three members of Han Father’s family and the three from Wei Father’s family found themselves reunited with their loved ones in the Sky Prison.
The palace maid, who had come from a prestigious southern clan and entered the palace for “Wei Lang” only to end up serving as strategist to Consort Han, was locked in a cell directly across from Wei Guangmei. When she saw Wei Lang carried in unconscious, she stood there tongue-tied and on the verge of tears. Not long after, her composure snapped.
She gripped the bars with all her might and shook them, shouting, “I have something to say! Let me out, I really have something important to say!”
On hearing this, Ling Jing couldn’t help but sigh, “Ah, in times of crisis, it’s every man for himself.”
“Exactly.” Qin Jingzhou leaned back in his chair, shifting his posture so Ling Jing could rest her head on his shoulder. “After all, she was raised as the darling of a distinguished southern family. Liking Wei Guangmei and seeking a bright future for herself aren’t mutually exclusive.”
Ling Jing leaned comfortably against Qin Jingzhou, winding her arm around his. “True enough. Wei Guangmei is a Fate’s Son, very charismatic in both manner and speech. If my cultivation hadn’t reached a certain level, maybe I’d be affected by him too.” She paused, then said more thoughtfully, “Wei Guangmei never truly loved Han Xuerou. He’s just after her beauty. Not getting what he wants has become an obsession. Look at how he schemed to harm the Crown Prince behind her back—when did he ever think about respecting Han Xuerou?”
Qin Jingzhou smiled. “Calling someone the daughter of your true love and then making her your body double… Don’t drag the words ‘true love’ through the mud.”
With that, he reached over and ruffled their son Xiaoqing’s hair.
Ling Jing nodded lightly. “No matter how infatuated these three Fate’s Sons are with Han Xuerou, in the end, they’re like the Lord Ye who claims to love dragons—they like the idea of her, not the reality. By the way, I really wasn’t expecting the Wei family to dare put up a fight.”
As for the Imperial Guards Grand Marshal Jiang Tongqing, when he took his orders regarding the Han family, things weren’t too bad. They knew the Noble Consort and Consort Han had their places at court; even if they weren’t unscathed, they could at least hope to get by. As soon as the Imperial Guards surrounded the Han residence and the inner attendant finished reading the Imperial Decree, most submitted quietly and accompanied the guards.
The Wei family, on the other hand, was a different story.
As old nobility, the Wei family kept two hundred Death Soldiers. When the Imperial Guards arrived, Old Master Wei instantly realized their plans had been almost entirely exposed and all hope was lost. He discarded any wishful thinking, gathered the Death Soldiers and the old and young of the household, and made a desperate attempt to escape.
He figured if even a few of them could get out, it would be worth it.
But Jiang Tongqing was a real veteran of the battlefield. Facing the Wei family’s resistance, he did not get flustered or angry—he actually laughed. How could he pass up military merit delivered to his door?
Besides, of the two hundred thousand Imperial Guards, at least half were next to useless in combat, but his own men were not among them.
Without a shred of hesitation, Jiang Tongqing did what he would have done in a siege—he swept through the house as if taking a city.
Not until nearly all the Death Soldiers were wiped out and more than half the Wei family’s younger generation were casualties did Jiang Tongqing finally stop.
Ling Jing had been sitting beside Qin Jingzhou while he listened to Jiang Tongqing’s report—now, thinking back to his description of events, she couldn’t help but chuckle. “When the guards bundled up the surviving members of the Wei family and stuffed them into carriages, their neighbors must have been scared out of their minds.”
The truth was, the nearby neighbors had some inkling that the Wei family was up to something. A few had even been asked by the head of the Wei family if they wanted in on a big plot…
Even though many of them felt that the Great Zhou was far from finished and that what the Wei family was doing was dancing at the edge of a guillotine, the speed of the Wei family’s downfall left them completely stunned.
Qin Jingzhou laughed as well. “Fate’s Son Number One practically handed himself in. Two and Three probably won’t be so easy to catch in one fell swoop.”
Ling Jing replied, “They’ve probably already packed their bags and run. We’ll just beat them head-on, fair and square, show everyone who’s boss, and use the occasion to set an example as we carry out the next round of ‘feudal reduction’—that’ll help curb the increasingly serious land annexation issue. Then, if we stick to historical trends, maybe we’ll give the budding capitalist spirit a little nudge?”
Qin Jingzhou agreed, “Yes.”
The two of them nestled together, chatting and laughing. Xuan Qing had his head resting in Qin Jingzhou’s lap, while Tuantuan lay with her head on Ling Jing’s thigh. Both children were sound asleep. With such a scene, could anyone in Qianqing Palace not see the Emperor’s true intentions?
Let alone whether the downfall of the Han and Wei families would affect the Noble Consort, the point was that with those two families out of the way, the Noble Consort and her daughter were set for even greater fortune.
When Qin Jingzhou finished tending to his son’s spirit and nascent soul, it was nearly time for dinner.
Even if Qin Jingzhou himself didn’t care, the other consorts and Imperial Princes and princesses in the palace were on edge—one move, and the Emperor had wiped out two noble clans, including the maternal houses of the Noble Consort and Consort Han!
Most consorts hailed from aristocratic families themselves, and most were tied to the Han and Wei families by countless threads of kinship.
Ling Jing guessed that Qin Jingzhou would find the right time to dismiss the consorts. She could have easily ignored them, but since they had just wrapped up the Han and Wei families, she and the palace, Qin Jingzhou and his court, all needed to account for the event—winning the hearts of the people would be key!
With the great clans and nobles nearly at the point of dividing the realm, keeping a solid foundation became more important than ever. At the very least, in the Capital and the surrounding four provinces, the officials and people had to acknowledge Qin Jingzhou as an enlightened ruler.
So Ling Jing took the initiative. “Let’s organize a family banquet. Invite the consorts and princes and princesses, and after dinner, we can clear up any confusion they have.”
There was no reason for Qin Jingzhou to refuse. “You make the decision.” He gently kissed Ling Jing. “Thank you for your hard work.”
Ling Jing guessed what he was thinking. “They aren’t your consorts, so you can’t exactly do it yourself.”
“These trivial matters should have been mine to handle,” Qin Jingzhou whispered in her ear. “You’re the only one I want.”
He might not be the sweetest talker, but his attitude couldn’t be more sincere. Ling Jing couldn’t help but feel happy, dimples deepening. “Yes, I know.”
She was long prepared for this—being with someone like him meant skipping straight past the fervor of new love and settling into an “old married couple” rhythm.
Yet even so, when she saw herself reflected as the only one in his eyes, Ling Jing still found herself completely satisfied.
And then she was on the receiving end of more affection from Qin Jingzhou. After a brief while, feeling re-energized, she got up and scooped up the still-groggy Tuantuan. “I’ll go make the arrangements.”
He watched her go, then Qin Jingzhou lowered his head to meet the bright gaze of his son. Ruffling the boy’s hair, he asked, “What is it? Is there something you want to ask?”
Ever since he transmigrated as a Frost Wolf, Xuan Qing liked nothing better than resting his head on Dad’s lap, especially being petted, with or without fur. Xuan Qing nuzzled against his dad’s hand and asked directly, “Dad, are you planning to marry Miss Ling?”
Qin Jingzhou smiled. “Yes, as long as she’s willing. In many mission worlds, she and I have been husband and wife, or lovers. Wherever she isn’t there, I miss her.”
Xuan Qing smiled too. “That’s what I thought.” He grabbed his dad’s hand, asking earnestly, “Dad, can I always be your son? Even in the Spiritual Realm?”
Qin Jingzhou replied to his shamelessly acting-cute son, “What do you think?”
Xuan Qing visibly got excited. “So that means I can always rely on you?”
Qin Jingzhou flicked his son’s forehead, grinning without saying anything.
“True. If you hadn’t come, Dad, I’d be finished.” Xuan Qing added, “Turns out… severe damage to the nascent soul can hurt your spirit, which in turn affects intelligence… I feel like my store of useless knowledge just grew again.”
“Get some more sleep,” Qin Jingzhou offered sincerely, “You can rest until after the family banquet.”
For the past few years, the original Jiang Jingzhou had pretty much holed up in the Star Observatory, and the last family banquet at the palace was nearly four years ago.
The consorts, each with their own children, entered Qianqing Palace and found, not only the Emperor and Noble Consort at the head of the table, but also the Crown Prince seated at the Emperor’s left, and Consort Han seated on the other side of the Noble Consort.
The Crown Prince still looked a little frail but seemed much improved; Consort Han looked so miserable, it seemed any moment her tears might fall.
The consorts straightened up, knowing a spectacle was coming.
After the formal greetings, everyone took their seats according to rank, with the young princes and princesses sitting at a separate table—the original host had only six children alive. Excluding the Crown Prince and Tuantuan, the remaining princes and princesses were all under six and needed assistance just to eat.
The consorts exchanged meaningful glances, signaling their children to behave.
The Emperor was notoriously hard to please, and after cultivating and consuming pills, had grown even more temperamental. Unless forced, none of them wanted to draw attention to themselves. After all, none were blind to how Consort Han had been favored above all for years, only to be suddenly thrown into the Star Observatory by the Emperor without warning.
That was only a touch better than being sent to the Cold Palace, and only in name.
The consorts, facing reality, simply lay low and let things be. Their children, drilled in techniques of self-preservation by their mothers, all behaved impeccably when Qin Jingzhou took the trouble to question each one—none of the little princes or princesses showed any ambition to stand out.
Qin Jingzhou was amused, and sent a communicator message to Ling Jing. “Turns out we’ve got a bunch of people who just want to get by.”
Ling Jing felt it too. “They’re so easy to manage.”
Qin Jingzhou also sent a communicator message to his son Xuan Qing. “Keep an eye on your new brothers and sisters.”
Xuan Qing didn’t object. Even before his dad arrived, minding his younger siblings had been his job. Not to brag, but if he hadn’t watched them so closely, at least half would be gone by now.
So, after everyone had eaten, Qin Jingzhou instructed Senior Eunuch Youde to step forward and repeat what Wei Guangmei had said to the Noble Consort earlier that day.
The consorts were horrified.
Qin Jingzhou specially reminded them, “Go home and question your families. If anyone got caught up in this without meaning to, and confesses of their own accord, the matter can be handled more leniently.”
With troubled hearts, the consorts left with their children.
That very night, the well-informed Fate’s Son Numbers Two and Three managed to get the information they’d wanted through various channels.
Frankly, with Wei Guangmei exposed, the two of them weren’t even surprised: if such a shoddy conspiracy could actually bring down either the Emperor or Crown Prince, it would be a miracle!
Still, there was no way the Han and Wei families in prison would keep their mouths shut, and no matter how powerful their own clans might be, there was no way they could take on the two hundred thousand Imperial Guards in the Capital—even if a good chunk of those guards were dead weight.
So escape was the only option, but before leaving the Capital, the two of them each visited the Dian family, seeking out the Dian family’s eldest daughter for help. After all, the medicine the Imperial Physician sent to the Crown Prince had been prescribed by her.
It’s worth mentioning that Miss Dian was the Crown Prince’s cousin. Blood-related.
The reason she’d helped Wei Guangmei bring down her own cousin was, on the one hand, she refused to accept the family’s arrangements to marry the doomed Crown Prince; on the other, she simply thought—Jiang Jingzhou was such a hopeless monarch that the sooner he died and got reborn, the better!
For all his slyness and hypocrisy, Wei Guangmei had never deliberately made life miserable for the people.