HMHSE - 99

It was only a brief stop. As the sun was setting, people in the official guesthouse began to leave, escorting the group of newly inspected prisoners and the carriage at the end of the line.

Shenrong stood in a corner at the end of the street, watching the Imperial Guard’s convoy depart.

The carriage moved away from her, surrounded by the strict Imperial Guards. It was a solitary, indistinct figure in the distance.

It wasn’t until Donglai called her that she realized she had unconsciously followed them for several steps.

“Young Mistress,” Donglai asked in a low voice from behind. “Should we inform Young Master Pei?”

He had seen Pei Shaoyong leave the official guesthouse courtyard behind the convoy. After mounting his horse, he had looked around the gate, guessing that the Imperial Guards might mention their visit to him.

Shenrong shook her head, her gaze still on the departing convoy. “No need. Second Cousin won’t say anything.”

________________________________________

It was an unknown hour, in an unknown place in Chang’an.

All that was certain was that it was a gloomy prison cell. A dozen new prisoners had been brought in, one by one, stripped of their armor and tied securely to wooden racks.

They were Hu Shi’er and a dozen other cavalry commanders from the remnants of the Lulong Army who had come with Shan Zong.

They were the ones directly involved and would all be interrogated.

Hu Shi’er, tied in the center, had already been questioned. He was covered in sweat.

A fierce-looking jailer with a scarred face stood in front of him, holding a whip with iron barbs, the tips of which were still stained with what looked like reddish rust. In his other hand, he held a red-hot iron sizzling in a brazier. He roared, “I’ll ask you one more time. Is what you submitted to the court completely true?”

“It’s true!” Hu Shi’er shouted. “Not a single lie! I’ll stake my life on it!”

“You’re not afraid of death?”

“Damn it, so many people from the Lulong Army died! What do I have to be afraid of? Even if you torture me to confess, I’ll still tell the truth! What I saw beyond the border was exactly that. The Lulong Army didn’t betray the country! Not a single word is false!”

The jailer raised the hot iron threateningly in front of him. “Fine, you can be stubborn. I’ll torture all of you first, and we’ll see if you change your tune!” With that, he threw the hot iron into the fire, turned, and went out, shouting for people to come.

Hu Shi’er craned his neck and yelled at his retreating back, “I won’t change my tune! The truth is the truth! Go ahead and kill me if you dare!”

After his roar, he felt as if someone was staring at him. He turned his head, panting, and saw the other cavalry commanders of the Lulong Army watching him.

The person tied to his left was Luo Chong. The white scar on his left eye twitched as he looked him over, a smile on his face that was both grim and sinister. “I underestimated you before. You have guts, staking your life to testify for us.”

Hu Shi’er said gruffly, “What’s that? Only you Lulong Army guys are tough? Our Youzhou Army isn’t soft either!”

“Damn it, we’re all fighting for the same person, why are you yelling!”

“You’re finally speaking like a human! You finally admit you’re the boss’s soldier!”

Luo Chong immediately shut up, the scar on his eye twitching. His smile became sheepish.

Hu Shi’er suddenly felt something was wrong. He turned back to look in the direction the jailer had left. “Where are they? Didn’t they say they were coming to torture us?”

Pang Lu, who was tied next to Luo Chong, said in a hoarse voice, “They were lying.”

“What?” Hu Shi’er was confused.

Bo Zhong, to his right, said, “I guessed so too. They must have believed our testimony and just wanted to test our resolve one last time, to make sure there were no mistakes.”

When dealing with military men, it was only natural to use extraordinary methods.

Just as he spoke, the jailer returned with a group of people behind him. He waved his hand, and the men immediately came over. However, they didn’t bring any torture implements. Instead, they untied all of them and made them kneel on the ground.

A testimony was laid out in front of them, with a bowl of blood-red mud and water next to it.

The jailer said, “This is your testimony. If you’re not afraid of death, put your handprints on it!”

Hu Shi’er craned his neck to look at it a few times. Without a word, he covered his palm in mud and pressed it onto the paper.

Luo Chong followed closely behind. Pang Lu, Bo Zhong, and the others all reached out and pressed their handprints.

The jailer shouted again, “Drag them out!”

The men took action and dragged them outside.

Walking through a dark passage, they reached a high-walled courtyard that was heavily guarded. The sudden brightness was blinding. The men realized they were in broad daylight.

Bo Zhong was the first to lower his hand from shielding his eyes. He saw a group of fearful, huddled people with their heads craned, watching from below the courtyard wall. Most were women and children, looking over in a panicked and anxious way. A few of the faces were familiar to him, faces he had kept in his heart for a long time. A choked sob escaped his lips.

It was his family.

Except for Hu Shi’er, the other cavalry commanders of the Lulong Army rushed forward one after another.

A wave of wailing and crying erupted.

The Lulong Army had been gone for years. When loved ones were reunited, they needed to be identified.

In a dark corner of the courtyard, the jailer folded the testimony with the handprints and presented it with both hands to the Marquis of Heluo, who was standing there in a scarlet official robe.

The Marquis of Heluo glanced at the scene of recognition and crying, and nodded, signaling that this was sufficient.

________________________________________

In the great hall of the deep palace, there was a solemn silence.

The Marquis of Heluo walked into the hall, personally holding the testimony covered with handprints. After respectfully saluting, he entered the curtains and placed it on the desk. He reported the events he had just witnessed in a low voice, then said, “Your subject has confirmed it. Please take a final look, Your Majesty.”

The young Emperor sitting behind the curtains raised a hand, carefully looked over the document, the paper rustling lightly. After only a moment, he placed his hand on it. “Summon him.”

The Marquis of Heluo assented and looked toward the hall door. “Summon the Youzhou Provincial Commander.”

Two solemn lines of Imperial Guards arrived. A man walked in the center, his Hu-style tunic imposing, his posture as straight as a pine tree. His hands were bound in shackles, clinking softly with each step of his boots on the floor.

Entering the hall, he knelt, his back straight. “Your subject, Shan Zong, greets Your Majesty.”

The Marquis of Heluo looked him over. He was also from a noble family in Luoyang but had never had a chance to meet him. Now he finally saw the man who had been a child of heaven back in the day.

He was completely different from what he had imagined. Even with shackles on his body and kneeling here, he still seemed to be at the top. His eyes were deep and calm, but there was none of the gentle warmth a noble son should have. In his black clothes, he was like a force of chaos, as if he had emerged from an abyss.

But this man was the hero who had defended Youzhou.

The young Emperor beside him had been watching. He nodded.

The Marquis of Heluo bowed and straightened up before speaking. “The people you brought have been identified by their families and confirmed to be the remnants of the Lulong Army. The testimony submitted by the Supreme Commander of the Guards is also consistent with the testimony they have given.”

Shan Zong bowed his head slightly. “Thank you, Your Majesty, for allowing them to reunite with their families.”

Just that one sentence. The Marquis of Heluo couldn’t help but look at the young figure by his side, knowing that the Emperor was observing him at this moment.

“However,” the Marquis of Heluo’s tone shifted, becoming gentle again. “All the generals who were close to the Youzhou Military Governor Li Xiaogu and experienced that event firsthand have been wiped out. Among all the people involved, the only ones who can testify for you are your own men. Even Zhou Jun, the commander of Tanzhou Garrison, was unaware. How can Your Majesty believe that the people you killed were indeed rebels and that the Lulong Army did not betray the country?”

Shan Zong looked up. “Your Majesty can investigate thoroughly.”

“Your Majesty has already investigated you thoroughly.”

“No,” Shan Zong’s voice was heavy. “Your subject means to investigate the late Emperor thoroughly.”

The Marquis of Heluo was startled. He lowered his voice. “How dare you! Do you know what you are saying!”

But the person beside him raised a hand and interrupted him.

The Marquis of Heluo looked at the new Emperor, understood his meaning, and said nothing more. He retreated outside the curtain and then out of the hall door.

The hall was silent for a moment. The curtain was lifted, and the young Emperor stood up, walking out from behind it.

“I have, in fact, already investigated the late Emperor.”

Shan Zong’s dark eyes moved, quickly sweeping over him.

He was at an age of a growth spurt. The young Emperor’s figure was thin. He wore a bright yellow round-collared robe, his face pale and his lips red. His eyes were clear. Unlike the distant and mysterious figure who sat behind the curtain, his features were a bit too gentle and refined.

“Even before I became Crown Prince, I had already experienced the late Emperor’s methods. The last few years of his reign were the time of his greatest suspicion and also the most tumultuous time for the borderlands and the court. It is not surprising that he would do such a thing, and yet still keep you to defend the frontier for him.”

Perhaps the late Emperor never trusted him, so even though he suppressed the matter, he still left behind a detailed record of the Lulong Army’s betrayal, which was a hundred times more detailed than the secret decree.

If Shan Zong were to one day break his solemn oath and seek revenge in Chang’an, becoming a threat, these crimes would still be exposed.

“The late Emperor would not leave behind anything that was disadvantageous to himself. I have inherited his position. I can investigate, but I cannot investigate thoroughly.” The young Emperor looked at him. “But you, after winning a great battle, disregarded your own life to bring back the remnants of the Lulong Army. You endured the humiliation of being locked in shackles all the way to Chang’an, and you seem confident that I would overturn your case.”

Shan Zong’s face was as calm as still water. “Yes.”

The first time he had sent Shenrong back to Chang’an, he had asked Pei Yuanling what kind of person the new Emperor was.

Pei Yuanling had said, “No one ever expected this person to ascend the throne.”

A new emperor who gained his position through a military coup, who was not the person the late Emperor had intended to pass the throne to, and who was not expected by the major aristocratic families. He would be completely ignorant of the late Emperor’s secrets. After his ascension, he had repeatedly purged the late Emperor’s old ministers, clearly putting him at odds with the late Emperor’s faction.

After the battle in Youzhou, his request to allow the serious offenders to serve in the army was the beginning, and also a test.

The new Emperor had permitted it, which showed that he valued border defense, even at the cost of breaking convention. He had successfully attracted attention as he had wished.

The young Emperor stood a good two zhang away from him, observing him. There was a look of disbelief on his face. After a long time, he said, “What if I don’t intend to overturn your case?”

Shan Zong’s eyes were deep. “If Your Majesty agreed with what the late Emperor did, you would have charged your subject with a crime the moment you saw the secret decree.”

In that case, he would have prepared for a different response.

The young Emperor’s face was furrowed in a frown. “The late Emperor never knew how many people would die in a battle or how much blood would be shed to protect a city. He couldn’t see it, nor did he care. So he got what he deserved. How could I agree with him?”

The thin young figure turned around. He went back behind the curtain, took the secret decree in his hand, his pale face a blur through the curtain. “I believe the Lulong Army did not betray the country. The basis for this is your actions in defending Youzhou.”

A general who led a treasonous army could not have held his ground with 20,000 soldiers, refusing to retreat or surrender.

Shan Zong’s clenched fingers relaxed. After waiting for four years, at this moment, he felt a profound sense of calm. “Thank you, Your Majesty, for your discerning judgment.”

The curtain moved, and the yellow silk secret decree was thrown out. “From now on, the secret decree is void. The Lulong Army is vindicated. The solemn oath before the Emperor no longer exists. You are the true Youzhou Provincial Commander.”

An Imperial Guard came in and unlocked Shan Zong’s shackles.

The Emperor behind the curtain seemed to still be observing him. His voice, young yet deep, said, “But what happens in the future, I will be watching.”

“Yes,” Shan Zong said.

“You are free.”