Chapter 173: The Instigator Was the Ninth Princess
Ling Zhang had never seen the emperor before, not even in his last incarnation. This was the first time that he had laid eyes on him. Before this day, he had thought that the emperor was a very portly man, but unexpectedly, he was very thin. It was just that he didn’t look very well, as if he had been born with a fairly weak const.i.tution, but even if this were the case, it didn’t change the fact that he was an emperor, and the commanding presence of him deterred most people present from looking him in the eye.
“You may rise, my Aiqing (a term of endearment used by an emperor or an empress to address an official in feudal China). This banquet is meant for Aiqing Yuwen, who has just returned to this city with a great victory. I’d like to drink this gla.s.s of wine first and, on behalf of all my subjects, thank Marshal Yuwen and all troops of the North-western Army for the valor they displayed on the battlefield. Without them, this great victory would never have been gained.”
After saying this, the emperor drank the gla.s.s of wine in one gulp. Naturally, civil officials and military officers of all ranks followed suit and also made some remarks the meanings of which were similar to that of the emperor’s.
Yuwen Tong drank several gla.s.ses in a row and the first round was finally over.
Among all attendees, envoys of the Wan Kingdom who had unabashedly attended this welcome reception were the only ones in embarra.s.sment, their faces dark with anger, which made them quite a sorry sight.
Ling Zhang was not the only one in this hall who had a gift for gab. Those civil officials and military officers were also masters of sarcasm, and some of them were even more sharp-tongued than Ling Zhang was. With everybody contributing to the discussion, those envoys of the Wan Kingdom were nearly reduced to vomiting blood due to anger, but they had no alternative but to swallow all those remarks.
Ling Zhang was puzzled. ‘What is it that they are after? Why did they put themselves in this awkward situation? They enjoy being ridiculed?’
No matter what the intention of this group of people from the Wan Kingdom was, the thing that Yuwen Tong wanted to do on this night was carried out as planned.
Halfway through the banquet, someone walked in from the outside, saying that he had something to report to Yuwen Tong.
However, right at the time when everybody believed that it was about some special military situation, the man reported, “Your Majesty, Marshal, the a.s.sa.s.sin who attempted to a.s.sa.s.sinate Childe Ling has been safely escorted into the capital city. The escort team is waiting right outside.”
‘An a.s.sa.s.sin?’ All officials were somewhat perplexed. They had heard about the a.s.sa.s.sination, but rumor had it that all a.s.sa.s.sins were dead. ‘Are they by any chance still alive?’
“Aiqing Yuwen, what’s going on?” queried the emperor.
“Your Majesty, one of the two a.s.sa.s.sins caught in Tanyang bit through a wax ball with poison inside and we failed to save him. The other one bit off his own tongue trying to commit suicide as well but was afterwards found still breathing by me, so I hurriedly forced some medicine into him to keep him alive and then had my personal bodyguards take him to a famous physician in Cangzhou who offered him medical treatment. Since I wasn’t sure whether this a.s.sa.s.sin would survive or not, to be on the safe side, I kept this to myself. Now that he’s been escorted back to the capital city, I think he must have survived. I’ll go outside and ask him who gave the order. It won’t be long.”
“Since this matter concerns the Palace Guards, I should not stand by. Have him brought inside,” said the emperor.
“Uh… Yes, Your Majesty,” Yuwen Tong replied and then instructed the man, “Go and bring him here.”
The man followed the order. There was a deathly hush in the hall. Everybody was speculating exactly what was going on. After all, the a.s.sa.s.sins were palace guards. Though their target had not been Yuwen Tong himself, the intention of the behind-the-scenes mastermind afforded much food for thought. There were indeed some conjecturing that the emperor had been the one who had sent the a.s.sa.s.sins, that the statement of Ling Zhang being the target was but a cover-up, that Yuwen Tong had been the actual target.
All those who made such conjectures were people who more or less knew about the true thoughts of the emperor, but now, hearing the emperor give the order to interrogate the a.s.sa.s.sin in front of so many people, they were somewhat puzzled.
‘Is His Majesty by any chance not the one responsible for this?’
As a matter of fact, the reason why the emperor had decided to openly interrogate the a.s.sa.s.sin was indeed to rid himself of suspicions. He did want Yuwen Tong killed, but not at this time, and he wouldn’t resort to this kind of method, because this would reduce him to infamy. If he suddenly had Yuwen Tong killed for no good reason and the palace guards were the ones who did it, what would his subjects think of their emperor?
The emperor had a suspicious mind but also knew that this kind of ill name was something he didn’t want.
Soon, the a.s.sa.s.sin was brought inside and forced to his knees in the middle of the hall, all his thoughts dashed, his face ghastly pale. “Your guilty servant pays his respect to you, Your Majesty. Please sentence me to death, though dying ten thousand deaths will not be sufficient to atone for my crime.”
“You do deserve a death sentence for being so bold as to make an attempt to a.s.sa.s.sinate Aiqing Yuwen’s wife-to-be. Answer this question – who gave you the order?!” the emperor demanded in a severe tone of voice.
The a.s.sa.s.sin kowtowed with a loud bang and kept his brow against the ground. “I don’t dare.”
“Outrageous! His Majesty is right in front of you. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Answer the question right now, or else!” reprimanded an eunuch standing beside the emperor.
“I fear that all my family will be killed if I confess,” wept the a.s.sa.s.sin.
“Someone threatened to kill all your family and coerced you into doing that? Who is it?!” The emperor’s face darkened. “I a.s.sure you all your family will be safe. Make a full confession in front of us all.”
The a.s.sa.s.sin raised his head to look at the emperor. “Your Majesty, can you really guarantee that all my family will be safe?”
“How dare you! His Majesty’s words are an imperial edict, on which you are in no place to lay doubt!” the eunuch reprimanded him again.
As if having set his mind at rest, the a.s.sa.s.sin heaved a sigh of relief and replied, “I’ll confess. It was under orders fro–from the Ninth Princess that I went there to a.s.sa.s.sinate Ling Zhang. The Ninth Princess instructed me to do whatever it took to kill Ling Zhang, or else she’d have all my family executed.”
“Outrageous! The Ninth Princess is a n.o.ble member of the imperial family. How dare you frame Her Highness?!” the eunuch hurriedly snapped, taken aback.
Even all civil officials and military officers present in the hall burst into an uproar. ‘The Ninth Princess?!’
The King Duan rose to his feet and remarked, “Father, there must be some kind of misunderstanding. Ninth Younger Sister has always been a good-natured person. It’s impossible that she was the one who did this. No matter how bad she wants to marry Marshal Yuwen, she will never try to have innocent Childe Ling killed.”
“Third Elder Brother, Ninth Younger Sister never said anything about wanting to marry Marshal Yuwen. Don’t you slander her!” The Fourth Prince, otherwise known as the King Hui, hurriedly stood up and sprung to his sister’s defence for fear that his sister’s reputation would be ruined before she could rid herself of this accusation.
“Fourth Younger Brother, there’s no need for you to cover for Ninth Younger Sister. It’s not like this is something she should be ashamed of,” the King Duan commented with great confidence and then walked up to the a.s.sa.s.sin. “Hey, let me ask you something. You said that the Ninth Princess was the one who gave the order, but do you have any proofs to back that up? If you don’t, you’ll be convicted of the felony of framing a princess and all your family will be executed along with you!”
“This a.s.sa.s.sin made that up! How is it possible that he has proofs? Ninth Younger Sister is a girl living in the imperial palace. She could never have made contact with this man, let alone incite him to kill anybody. This a.s.sa.s.sin is definitely trying to frame her. Guards! Drag this a.s.sa.s.sin out of here right now and flog him to death!” the King Hui hurriedly remarked.
“Why are you so anxious, Fourth Younger Brother? Even if Ninth Younger Sister was innocent, the culprit would be someone else, and this a.s.sa.s.sin is a key witness. If you have him flogged to death… Well, Fourth Younger Brother, are you having a guilty conscience and afraid of what this a.s.sa.s.sin might say next, by any chance?” The King Duan immediately directed the suspicions against the King Hui.
The King Hui was both shocked and infuriated. “Bulls.h.i.+t!”
“Enough! Shut your mouths! Both of you!” The emperor’s face was as cold as a pond. “Go back to your seats. Such behavior is unbelievably undignified!”
Though unresigned, the King Hui had no choice but to sit back into his seat, while the King Duan was unable to conceal the complacency on his face no matter how hard he tried.
It had never crossed his mind that the Ninth Princess had been involved in this matter, which had turned out to be a great favor to him. If the King Hui, who was a backer of the Ninth Princess, would be incriminated as well, he would be even more pleased.
Ling Zhang had been looking on all along. The truth of this matter had been ascertained before Yuwen Tong decided to bring this a.s.sa.s.sin to the imperial palace. It was indeed the Ninth Princess who had ordered the a.s.sa.s.sination, not anybody else.
“I have proof,” the a.s.sa.s.sin suddenly said. “I didn’t make that up. Please spare my family, Your Majesty. I was really coerced by the Ninth Princess.”
“Then show us the proof!” The King Duan glared at him.
The King Hui rose to his feet and was just about to say something when the emperor darted him a piercing look and with that he had no choice but to sit back into his seat.
“Before I left the capital city, the personal handmaid of the Ninth Princess once came to me and I stole the plate hanging on her belt from her when she was not paying attention. It was a security pa.s.s for the palace of the Ninth Princess. On that day, she went back to my place to look for it. I lied to her, saying that I had never seen it. She didn’t know it was taken by me. I have it right in my bosom!” said the a.s.sa.s.sin.
Soon a palace servant searched the a.s.sa.s.sin and found the plate. It was indeed a security pa.s.s for the palace of the Ninth Princess.
“Who knows whether you are lying or not? You could have accidentally found the plate of the handmaid somewhere and deliberately said that you stole it from her,” remarked the King Hui.
“Interrogate her and the truth will be revealed,” replied the a.s.sa.s.sin in an utterly unafraid tone of voice.
The emperor instructed flintily, “Guards, restrain that handmaid and have her interrogated.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
After the joyous banquet was reduced to this kind of incident, everybody was no longer in the mood for food. Speaking of this a.s.sa.s.sination, Ling Zhang was the target who had narrowly escaped death, but attention of none of the civil officials and military officers in the hall was focused on him. Their gaze was s.h.i.+fting between the King Hui, the a.s.sa.s.sin, the King Duan, the emperor and Yuwen Tong back and forth. All of them were trying to find traces of the truth. Ling Zhang felt that this must be quite an effort for them.
After the emperor gave the order, palace guards took immediate action and soon arrested the personal handmaid of the Ninth Princess to interrogate her.
At this moment, the palace of the Ninth Princess was in total confusion. Originally, handmaids had been helping the Ninth Princess dress up, making preparations for her romantic “chance meeting” with Yuwen Tong after the banquet this night, but some palace guards had suddenly intruded into the room and took the personal handmaid of the Ninth Princess away.
The Ninth Princess’ face changed drastically and asked them why they were doing this. A palace guard informed her, “The a.s.sa.s.sin who tried to a.s.sa.s.sinate Ling Zhang has been escorted back. He ratted out you and this handmaid beside you. Please stay in this palace and wait for His Majesty’s further instructions, Your Highness.”
“What?! This can’t be happening! Isn’t the a.s.sa.s.sin already dead?!” The Ninth Princess’ face instantly paled visibly. The reason why she had returned from the Zhaohua Temple was because she heard that both of the two a.s.sa.s.sins had died. ‘How did that a.s.sa.s.sin come to suddenly raise from the dead?!’
n.o.body knew what that palace guard was considering, but he told her how that a.s.sa.s.sin had survived and she instantly slumped to the ground, her face deathly white.
“Your Highness, what should we do now? If Sister Xiang by any chance rats you out, things will be very tricky!” a handmaid beside her commented urgently.
With a sullen look on her face, the Ninth Princess responded, “She’s already been taken away. What else could I do?”
“If she really rats you out and His Majesty asks you about it, you need to a.s.sert that you don’t know anything about this matter, and s.h.i.+ft the blame onto Sister Xiang. Ju–Just say that Sister Xiang grew a sneaking affection for the Marshal during a chance meeting with him, that after hearing the Marshal was engaged to someone, she incited the two palace guards to perform the a.s.sa.s.sination in your name without your knowledge!” the handmaid anxiously advised.