Jiang Tongqing wanted to continue pursuing the routed coalition of Noble Clans and aristocratic families, so the second Fate’s Son could only squeeze into the prison carriage with the other captives, returning first to the Capital under escort by Jiang Tongqing’s deputy general.
By now, news of this great victory had spread throughout the Capital region and the four neighboring provinces.
Hunched in the prison cart, the second Fate’s Son could only watch helplessly as the common folk rejoiced—shops along the street either posted proclamations or had the innkeeper personally standing at the door inviting customers, declaring that goods would be 20 percent off during the grand celebration. He felt extremely bitter at heart. Even now, he was keenly aware that he would not die.
After all, when the Original Emperor curbed so many Noble Clans, he only wanted their silver and land, and most of their sons came to no real harm.
He didn’t think he would be the exception. To redeem himself, the Emperor would no doubt ask a sky-high price.
Of course, being free from danger didn’t mean the Emperor would treat him kindly, but he could only look for pleasure where he could find it: at least this time he got to meet Brother Wei again in the imperial prison, which could be counted as fulfilling their old brotherhood.
Unfortunately, the second Fate’s Son only guessed half right. He did end up as Wei-ge’s neighbor in the imperial prison, and the Emperor really didn’t want to kill him. But after seeing the Crown Prince and Dian Lanyu, he and Brother Wei were hauled off to...some place in the Palace...
When he became aware of where he was, and realized in an instant that he might spend the rest of his days unable to be a man, he immediately let out a soul-rending wail. “No! I’ll tell you whatever you want to know! I’ll tell you everything! No!”
Wei Guangmei was right next door to him, tied securely to an impossibly thick wooden board. He shouted back, “You’re really so noisy!”
But his brother next door was so gripped with terror that nothing Wei Guangmei yelled could calm him down.
Whatever, he’d done his best. The rest, he’d just let happen however it would.
On reflection, if not for the countless memories and images that started flooding his mind half a year ago, he’d probably be just as terrified. But...not to the point of pissing himself: the stench was wafting over, truly disgusting!
Yet it was someone like this, who in his last life took advantage of Wei Guangmei’s illness to kill him and steal everything he had...including the wife and children who never forgot him, and even his entire kingdom.
Seeing the man now, howling so miserably, gave him a sense of vindication.
To be honest, he had gone over those inexplicable scenes in his mind again and again, especially after finally figuring out who the girl who looked seven or eight parts like Xue Rou was. After that, he understood clearly why the Emperor and Crown Prince were treating him this way. To be completely fair, he felt he deserved to die.
Still...his eyes turned, and he smiled somewhat pleadingly at the two Inner Attendants approaching him. “Would you be so kind as to ask His Majesty if I might die with some understanding? Please, tell His Majesty I know my crimes deserve death, but there’s still something in my heart I can’t figure out...could he grant me this?”
His words were polite, though they came out a little jumbled.
The two Inner Attendants exchanged a glance, thinking it was still best to ask. After all, the Wei case was finished, the Wei family either dead or exiled, yet Wei Guangmei alone had been kept in the imperial prison, clearly marking him as special.
And indeed, the Inner Attendants guessed right—Wei Guangmei really was special.
Even if he didn’t ask, Qin Jingzhou, Ling Jing, Xuan Qing, and Dian Lanyu all planned to come “inspect the results” in person. Of course, there was no reason for Tuantuan to appear.
So the messaging Inner Attendant raced all the way to the gates of Qianqing Palace, just as Qin Jingzhou and company were preparing to head out.
The messenger seamlessly shifted to leading the way. The weather today was excellent, so Qin Jingzhou and the others simply walked over… No one thought it a problem to leave Wei Guangmei and the second Fate’s Son to stew in misery a little longer.
Thus, Wei Guangmei was left to listen to his brother’s endless howling for a full half hour, then waited nearly another half hour before he finally got to see those he wanted to meet… Or rather, it was a whole family gathering.
He took a deep breath and maliciously asked, “Is His Majesty not going to dismiss his attendants? If not, this may not end well.”
He felt certain that Emperor Jiang Jingzhou, like himself, had encountered some kind of strange fortune. How else could Jiang Jingzhou have seized the initiative, stopped the Crown Prince from continuing to take medicine, saved him, and quickly won back Xue Rou?
This was what had always puzzled him—was it that Jiang Jingzhou had confessed all to Xue Rou, touched her, moved her, and so prompted her to so heartlessly abandon him? Every time he recalled the savage kick Xue Rou gave him in Jingren Palace, it seemed, in that moment, she really wanted him dead. Or…did Xue Rou, like him, somehow know many fragments of the future?
Ling Jing sat on a chair brought by an Inner Attendant, completely at ease. “Oh? And how might it not end well? Do tell.”
Wei Guangmei stiffly turned his head. “You hate me. Why do you suddenly hate me? My heart holds only you.”
Ling Jing let out a cold laugh and looked at Qin Jingzhou. “He’s beyond saving.”
Qin Jingzhou laughed as well. “He’s never regarded you as a person, just a cat or a dog to tease. Your feelings and anger mean nothing to him.”
Ling Jing nodded slowly. “Exactly.”
She hoped these words would help the original soul let go of her final obsession. And sure enough, as she thought this, that mass of fog in her chest began to dissipate.
Seeing the real Han Xuerou’s obsession fade away, Qin Jingzhou gave orders to the waiting Inner Attendants. “Execute him.” With that, he stood up. “Let’s go see the one next door—I hear he’s been wailing the whole way here.”
Wei Guangmei wanted to say something more, but one of the sturdy Inner Attendants clamped a hand over his mouth. He could only watch helplessly as Xue Rou, the Crown Prince, and Dian Lanyu followed Jiang Jingzhou out of the room…
He was finished! His last hope was gone. He’d only wanted to enrage Jiang Jingzhou and now even that chance was lost.
As he was drowning in regret, an Inner Attendant stabbed him. Muscles straining, he could not even make a sound.
Meanwhile, in the next room, the second Fate’s Son was an utter mess—sweat, tears, snot, urine, and feces… Even though the Inner Attendants had done some cleaning beforehand, it was still impossible to even step properly in the little room thanks to him.
Clearly, Number Two hadn’t been through Rebirth. Once Qin Jingzhou and the others saw it with their own eyes, they had the waiting Inner Attendants carry out the execution.
Just like Wei Guangmei, Number Two stared with bloodshot eyes, unable to make a sound.
Half a month later, Number Two fevered and died from infection of his wounds, while Wei Guangmei found himself the Palace’s newest eunuch.
By year’s end, Jiang Tongqing returned to the Capital in triumph. In the study, Qin Jingzhou was discussing with Ling Jing how to throw a grand banquet for the court officials, and he heard Dian Lanyu mention to Xiao Qing, “Wei Guangmei seems to have accepted reality… I passed by the medicine gardens with some men and heard him several times teaching the young eunuchs how to behave in the Palace.”
Xuan Qing remained unimpressed. “Teaching what? How to go from dashing noble son to a chamber pot-cleaning junior eunuch?”
Dian Lanyu, however, could just about find a bright side. “You have to admit he’s a real schemer. He’s accepted reality this fast and is already trying to win people over, hoping for a comeback.”
Xuan Qing chuckled. “That makes sense.”
Another half month passed. Because Wei Guangmei was handsome and knew how to conduct himself, he outshone several ambitious little eunuchs… until one day, on patrol, the Imperial Guards found him drowned by the water trough near the well.
When this news reached Xuan Qing, he made a point to tell Dian Lanyu, “That’s a pretty dramatic way to die.”
Dian Lanyu said sincerely, “It’s just like in the novels, where he was betrayed by his own right-hand man when he was gravely ill. Even though he had Rebirth, a dog can’t change its ways…” She clenched her fist. “But now he’s dead, I no longer have a canonical fiancé.”
Xuan Qing replied earnestly, “Congratulations.” Without waiting for her to speak, he said, “Love and marriage are your own choice. If you decide on someone, let me know—I'll officiate the ceremony for you.”
Dian Lanyu let out a long breath and, after a moment, was truly moved. “Thank you.”
Her current boyfriend was the youngest son of the Vice Director from the Imperial Academy of Medicine. After discovering her outstanding skills, the young man kept coming to her with questions, and gradually they grew close.
Speaking of Jiang Tongqing, after two months of pursuit, he’d managed to halve the thirty-thousand-strong army of southern Noble Clans and aristocrats, seizing various military officers and key heirs of Noble Clans and aristocrats serving as military supervisors among the coalition.
These sons of Nobility fled for their lives again and again, leaving behind confidants and Prince’s Personal Guards, just barely making it back to their family strongholds.
At this point, the relationship between Qin Jingzhou and these southern Noble Clans and aristocrats—who had almost formed their own independent regime—was completely reversed.
Although Qin Jingzhou’s existing grain reserves and silver could only support him in dividing his forces, not ruling the realm by force, after Jiang Tongqing’s return he could still keep up the offensive pressure through Jiang Tongqing’s deputy generals… giving the southern Noble Clans more to worry about, helping them continue to lose their grip in disarray.
Indeed, just as Qin Jingzhou and the others predicted, as he rewarded and feted meritorious officials in the Capital, throwing a great banquet for the entire court, the southern Noble Clans and aristocratic families spent the New Year in deep anxiety, with not a trace of festivity among them.
The only silver lining was that Emperor Jiang Jingzhou was steady but not aggressive. If they could recover their strength in the next few years and recruit more allies—such as those little self-styled emperors in the west—success could yet be within reach!
Fate’s Son Number Three huddled in a corner, watching his uncles and cousins—a few of whom had come back even earlier than he had—hold forth as if, if only they could rally another thirty thousand men, letting Jiang Jingzhou taste bitter defeat too...it would all be no trouble.
He raised his hand to press his aching brow, his mind so filled with turmoil that both head and heart ached.
Even after several palace purges, the agents he’d buried deeply had not been unearthed, and could still get news to him—for example, that Wei Guangmei and the others had been castrated by Emperor Jiang Jingzhou, and neither had survived the New Year.
He reckoned if Jiang Tongqing caught him, he’d end up just like those two—the most wretched kind of brotherhood.
At least he finally understood: the reason Jiang Jingzhou denied Wei Guangmei and the others a dignified end wasn’t mainly their regicide or rebellion, but that both had coveted Han Xuerou, and acted on those desires.
Most damning was the proclamation sent out by the southern Noble Clans and aristocrats before their Northern Campaign, loudly declaring Xuerou a demoness and pledging that their aim was to clear the Emperor’s side… He saw no way Jiang Jingzhou would spare him or his clan.
Truly, beauty brings ruin to nations!
Thinking this, he slapped himself on the head. If they could capture Han Xuerou, would there still be hope? Then he recalled that Han Xuerou’s half-sister Han Fei was still in the Palace, apparently untouched by the Han family’s troubles.
Han Fei was hopelessly devoted to her cousin—and that cousin had a brother who seemed quite close to Dian Lanyu?
If they could control these two, then capture the Emperor’s and Xuerou’s beloved little princess… he figured he might try returning to the Capital, lying low, and waiting for an opportunity.