Chapter 5: Esteemed Empress Opens Her Eyes
w.a.n.g momo was trembling. Her master had not only been married off to a criminal by His Majesty, but one without use of his legs as well? What kind of happiness could she find after that?
"Esteemed Empress!" she wailed out loud. "Please open your eyes and take a look at Her Royal Highness the eldest princess!"
Everyone looked to the skies after w.a.n.g momo started crying. So what if esteemed empress opened her eyes again? What could she do? Strike Consort Zhao dead with lightning? Right now, the skies above the palace were empty except for the glowing sun. As w.a.n.g momo cried out, a flash of lightning streaked down from the Heavens, followed by a thunderous peal!
Had esteemed empress really opened her eyes after the shout?
Perhaps she did. The banyan tree that Consort Zhao was standing under had one of its branches broken, burying the consort beneath the limb.
Did you think people from the apocalypse only relied on evolution to get stronger? That"s too naive. They"d be pounded to paste by the zombies if they didn"t develop some superpowers too. If Yu Xiaoxiao hadn"t been too wounded in her last life to call upon her powers, then she wouldn"t have needed to suicide bomb those zombies with her ant.i.tank grenade. She"d simply call down lightning to zap them all dead!
"Con–Consort Zhao?" In the deathly stillness, it was the loyal Jing Zhong (敬忠) who first reacted from the crowd. As he ran to Consort Zhao"s side, Xiaozong was still staring at the sky. How did that lightning come and go just like that?
Yu Xiaoxiao looked down at her hand. Her powers were much weaker here. She wanted to split the woman in half, but only ended up splitting a tree. Meanwhile, w.a.n.g momo had recovered from her shock to kowtow towards the sky. "Esteemed Empress is benevolent and merciful, ah!"
Everyone was floored by her words. Looks like esteemed empress really was merciful. Otherwise, wouldn"t she kill Consort Zhao with one zap? Why zap a tree instead?
"Your Majesty, Consort Zhao spat out blood!" Jing Zhong cried. He"d summoned a few other eunuchs to move aside the branches to reveal Consort Zhao"s form underneath.
"Beloved consort, you…" Xiaozong rushed to the tree, only to see Consort Zhao"s wretched nose and mouth stained with blood. The sight rendered him speechless.
"Esteemed Empress, may you have a good journey!" w.a.n.g momo was still shouting at the skies.
The people of Fengtian Dynasty (奉天王朝) respected ghosts and G.o.ds, so many of them fell to their knees. When Xiaozong thought of the empress watching from the Heavens, a chill stole upon his back as he shrank involuntarily.
"Let"s go," Yu Xiaoxiao turned to leave.
In the past, w.a.n.g momo would rejoice whenever Consort Zhao got unlucky, but she didn"t feel happy this time. She followed Yu Xiaoxiao to a side path and asked, "Princess, ah, why did you oppose His Majesty on this matter?" For now, she"d chose to ignore when her princess had suddenly grown so fierce.
Xiaozong couldn"t bother with the kneeling courtiers either. He ordered people to carry Consort Zhao back, then called for an imperial physician. The sudden change in his own daughter could be dealt with after saving his beloved"s life.
Head Chancellor Ying and the rest watched on. Now they didn"t have to risk their lives to plea for mercy anymore. Although His Majesty was unreliable, he would never sit by and watch his daughter become a widow, right? A few of the officials left the palace and ran straight towards the Imperial Court of Justice to break the good news to the imprisoned Gu family.
Yu Xiaoxiao returned to her residence at Resplendence Palace and called over all her servants to ask, "Tell me now, what"s going on with the Gu Clan?"
w.a.n.g momo nearly fainted away as her legs turned into jelly. "Why did you tell His Majesty you"d marry without knowing a thing?"
Yu Xiaoxiao replied, "Didn"t you say that Gu fellow was a good guy?"
w.a.n.g momo replied, "So you"d marry as long as he was a good guy? Then–then there"s plenty of other good men in the world, I–"
"The old Supreme Commander Gu was framed by the Zhao faction!" the retainer Breezy cried loudly.
"That"s right," the young eunuch Sandy chimed in. "The Gu Clan are loyal subjects!"
When w.a.n.g momo saw all of the other servants nod in agreement, she realized that the servants of Resplendence Palace were still high-minded, righteous va.s.sals.
Although Breezy and Sandy both tried to get words in at once and talked over each other with any logic to their sentences, Yu Xiaoxiao still grasped the main ideas. The Gu Clan were loyal subjects to the point of being martyrs. Unfortunately, they offended the Zhao faction and ended up getting no credit for their merits while being blamed and sentenced to punishment.
"Your Royal Highness!" Breezy"s face was full of indignation. "It was old Supreme Commander Gu who beat back the White Tiger nation, but Chief Minister Zhao"s son took all the credit! It"s impossible for Supreme Commander Gu and the rest to be colluding with the enemy!"
Sandy gnashed his teeth and added, "If the Gu Clan didn"t have the late emperor"s token to save them from the death penalty, then they would have been executed by now!"
w.a.n.g momo sighed. "The Gu Clan may have been wronged, but even esteemed empress couldn"t save them. Is the princess supposed to live as a commoner once she marries into their family? All of them are still locked up in the imperial prisons right now!"
A human from the apocalypse couldn"t understand the tears of blood that came from a wicked consort ruining a loyal family in ancient times. Yu Xiaoxiao only felt that she couldn"t set upon the path of the cruel female emperor no matter what. It was easy enough for herself to run away, but what to do about everyone else? Although she"d known them for less than 24 hours, she had made inquiries and found out if she left, they"d be accused of dereliction of duties in serving the princess and lose their heads. To properly leave the palace without being sent to a fiefdom, marriage was the only option.
As for that Gu Clan fellow who was supposed to be her lifelong companion, suffice to say that people in the apocalypse had babies with whoever they found pleasing to ensure the existence of the human race. High moral principles didn"t exist, nor concepts like chast.i.ty and virginity. In Yu Xiaoxiao"s mind, it was more important to find a way to bring w.a.n.g momo and the rest out of the palace. She"d worry about that Gu fellow when she had more time.