Quick Travel to the Clouds

Chapter 537 The Princess Who Wants to Compilation 34

The room fell silent again, with only Yun Chu's slightly rapid breathing.

The four of them looked at the woman in front of them who was seriously injured and pale, but still pointed the sharp blade at the imperial city with an iron will. The throbbing in their hearts and a more intense sense of belonging rose again.

There was more determination in Gu Tingzhou's calm eyes, the anger in Liu Rufeng's eyes was replaced by burning fighting spirit, a dark flame ignited in the depths of Bai Mo's cold eyes, and Shen Ji held her hand even tighter. The shadow of the past life completely dissipated, leaving only the surrender and common hatred of the enemy at this moment.

Half a month later, after a thrilling journey of stealth and mopping up, the group finally stepped into the territory of the Twelve Counties of Canglan.

A few days later

The dusty cavalry commander Yue Zhi, his armor still stained with the smell of blood, stepped into Prince Anchen's palace.

"Your Highness! Verification has been confirmed! The remnants of the Fallen Eagle Village have confessed that the mastermind was a nobleman from the capital, who bribed them with a token of two phoenixes intertwined and a promise of a large sum of gold. The village's bank records, including the hidden marks on several gold ingots, have been verified to be privately minted in the inner treasury of the palace of Xilin Prince Huang Yunqiong!"

"Also, we found a 'Soul Separation Inducement' that is seven-tenths similar to the poison that the prince was poisoned with, and... the original half of the phoenix-patterned token, in the cellar of a villa owned by the Yulin Army, a confidant of Beijing Prince Huang Yunjin!"

Yun Chu, draped in a black cloak, sat high atop the black iron throne of the Prince's Mansion. Her shoulder injury hadn't yet healed, and even the slightest movement caused a tearing pain. However, the laziness in her phoenix eyes had long since been replaced by a bottomless, icy depth, as if condensing the entire Canglan's chilling power.

After hearing the report from the Iron Cavalry, she actually twitched the corners of her lips slightly, with bloodshot eyes. That was not weakness, but the awakening of her bloodthirsty ferocity.

"Heh..." A very light and cold laugh escaped, causing the temperature in the hall to drop suddenly.

Yun Chu slowly raised his hand and tapped the black iron armrest of the throne with the knuckle of his index finger, making a dull "thump, thump" sound, like a soul-stirring drumbeat.

"My eldest sister is a very elegant person, and she loves and pampers peonies. Come," Yun Chu's voice was not loud, but it clearly penetrated the hall, "take this Canglan 'specialty' - a hundred kilograms of flower fertilizer, carefully wrapped in gold-lacquered red silk, and send it to my eldest sister's residence at full speed."

Yun Chu paused, her tone icy. "I must tell you, this is made from the fertile soil of Canglan mixed with... the flesh and blood essence of those 'Soul-Separating' assassins. It will best nourish her beloved Wei Zi and Yao Huang. Let her enjoy the flowers and smell their fragrance every day, savoring... the grace of nurturing her."

Yun Chu's eyes fell on the bloody token rubbing presented by the Iron Cavalry. "As for my good Third Sister..." Her eyes were deep. "She is as pure and proud as a fairy, with a body as beautiful as ice and jade, isn't she?"

Yun Chu's smile grew even colder. "Since she's willing to pay for my life, she must have ample funds. I happen to have a batch of 'return gifts' here."

Yun Chu's voice was firm and decisive. "Select five hundred elite soldiers and disguise them as 'bandits.' Within three days, any merchant ship carrying the seal of 'Huang Yunqiong' on the Canglan waterway... will not be allowed to enter the capital. All cargo will be confiscated! The ships... will be piled up at the mouth of the canal as a dam!"

Destroying their financial resources is the most direct revenge.

"Those assassins who were captured alive and know a little about poisons...don't let them eat Canglan's food in vain. Make some good medicine that will make them 'relaxed and articulate'."

"Then, leave no one alive and throw them all to the gates of the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice! Let them decide for themselves who is the master. The more detailed their confession, the happier their death... will be." She wanted to make the water in the capital even more muddy and let fear spread in the darkness.

Orders came down like thunder, without any useless threats, and every blow was precise and ruthless, hitting the vital points directly.

"I obey your command!" Yue Zhi stepped back and took action immediately.

The sound of Yun Chu's finger bones hitting the black iron had not yet faded away when a strong wind suddenly blew up outside the hall, carrying sand and stones that hit the window frames, as if responding to the murderous intent.

Ten ebony carriages pulled sealed iron boxes, their surfaces painted with eerie peony patterns in gold lacquer. Red silk fluttered like blood in the north wind. On the day the convoy arrived in the north, over a hundred elite cavalrymen, in grim armor, unloaded the boxes in the street.

The moment the iron box was opened—a strong smell of fishy odor mixed with the smell of rotten earth exploded! Within the dark red, sticky substance, fragments of bones and tendons that had not yet fully decayed were visible!

"Prince Canglan specially presents us with a hundred kilograms of 'Red Earth Pill'! It's fertilized with the heart blood of the bandit leader of Luoying Village, supplemented with assassin's bone meal, and stored for a hundred days to cultivate the most famous peony. Prince Beijing, please personally apply this fertilizer daily with a jade spoon, so that you will not let down this 'sincere' mantle!"

Huang Yunjin was holding a cup and smiling at the Peony Banquet at that time. Upon hearing the news, she vomited bile on the spot.

My favorite "Green Dragon Lying in the Ink Pool" was splashed with human blood and flesh, and its branches and leaves instantly turned black and curled up.

In shock and anger, she smashed the golden basin with a sword and screamed: "Yun Chu!!!" - From then on, her heart would palpitate and twitch whenever she saw peonies, and all the famous plants in the garden were burned.

Within three days, the throat of the Canglan water vein was at the "Ghost-Seeing" gorge.

Under a dark moon and surging waves, five hundred masked pirates swarmed like night hawks. Whenever they spotted a merchant ship bearing the three-clawed golden phoenix seal, rockets rained down from the sky! The cargo was looted, the hulls pierced, and the ships sunk into the river. The survivors wailed, "They...only burn the cabins bearing the seal!"

When Huang Yunqiong received the urgent news in her study, her sandalwood abacus was broken into pieces: "Seven salt ships, three ships of South China Sea treasures... all gone!"

The account books were splattered with the blood foam that gushed from her mouth. Even more deadly, the wreckage of the sunken ship was connected by iron chains, forming a ten-foot-high "ship dam" at the narrow pass where the canal entered Beijing!

The grain transport was blocked for more than a month, and the price of grain soared. The people complained that the third princess was greedy for money and harmed the people.

On a rainy night, the vermilion lacquered door of the Ministry of Justice banged loudly.

Thirty "living sacrifices" were chained around the neck, crawling on the steps like dogs and pigs. Each had a three-inch silver needle stuck in their throat, the end of the needle quenched with a green liquid - it was Bai Mo's special "Changyan Powder". The poisoned people were insane but their speech was surprisingly clear. The moment the door of the Censorate opened, the assassins suddenly raised their heads and roared:

"King Xilin gave eight thousand taels of gold! Luoying Village took over!"

"There's a Soul-Separating Guide at Prince Jing's villa! It's hidden under a peony pot!"

"The Twin Phoenix Token was supposed to have four claws! They changed it to three claws and framed the person..."

The shrill confessions echoed throughout half of Suzaku Street. Before the bailiffs could drag them inside, most of the assassins had already died, their bodies covered in bruises. Before the poison reached their hearts, they had already shouted out the mastermind, the location of the drug, and the whereabouts of the money to everyone.

The next morning, at the court, Huang Yuqing sat on the dragon throne with a sullen expression. The atmosphere in the hall was as stagnant as a grave.

The white-haired old minister knelt, holding the rubbing of the token, tears streaming down his face. "The Twin Phoenix Token was produced by the Imperial Household! The princesses have become so murderous, the foundation of the nation is shaken, Your Majesty!"

Before he could finish his words, the Dali Temple Minister rushed out of the ranks and said, "There's irrefutable evidence that Prince Canglan was assassinated! Please thoroughly investigate Prince Beijing's Peony Villa and Prince Xilin's private minting of gold ingots!"

The Minister of Revenue suddenly stepped forward and said, "Prince Xilin's merchant ships are blocking the grain transport system, causing a famine! Please remove his authority over the grain transport system!"

Several ministers responded in unison, and upon closer inspection, they were all the people who had competed with King Xilin for profit in the past.

The commander of the Imperial Guards cried out, "Prince Canglan secretly mobilized cavalry across the border to suppress bandits! This is treason!"

But the Minister of War sneered and interrupted him: "We are suppressing the bandits who are trying to assassinate the prince! Could it be that the commander also wants to try the 'Red Earth Pill'?"

......

......

The final ruling of the Empress Huang Yuqing is to severely punish the princess involved (both superficial and substantive):

Xilin Wang Huang Yunqiong: (Evidence: Illegal minting of gold ingots to hire assassins, sinking of ships to block grain transport, causing famine)

Severe punishment: deprivation of the prince's title and demotion to the rank of a county prince.

Strip away his power: immediately strip away all the powers related to the grain transport, and reduce his fiefdom by half (the request of the Minister of Revenue was exactly what he wanted).

Fines/compensation: Bear all compensation for losses caused by the blockage of grain transport and soaring grain prices (the huge fines emptied his private treasury).

House arrest/reflection: He was ordered to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors in the Xilin Palace and was not allowed to leave the palace without an imperial decree.

Accountability: The officials in the inner treasury who were responsible for the private minting and related persons had their property confiscated, exiled or executed.

Beijing Prince Huang Yunjin: (Evidence: Hiding the "Soul-Separating Guide" and directly involved in the assassination)

Deprivation of military power: take back the Yulin Army and related military power under his control.

Fine salary/reduction of fiefdom: confiscate several years’ salary and reduce fiefdom.

Accountability of the villa: The villa managed by his confidants and related personnel will be severely punished.

Ordered to conduct a self-inspection: a thorough inspection and rectification of his residence and its jurisdiction.

Canglan Wang Yunchu: (cross-border action, brutal means, and significant impact)

Restricting Military Power: Strictly prohibiting unauthorized mobilization of troops for cross-border operations in the near future. Confidant Yue Zhi and others were temporarily detained.

Limit "privileges": cut its financial support in the twelve counties.

The Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, and the Imperial Censorate were ordered to jointly investigate the case, focusing on the physical evidence provided by Prince Canglan (rubbings of the token, confessions from the survivors, and the privately minted gold ingots), as well as the looted "Soul Separation Guide." The investigation was expanded to include Luoying Village, the source of the Shuanghuang Order, and the villa involved.

......

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, candlelight flickered. Empress Huang Yuqing wrote rapidly, the cinnabar-stained imperial pen falling heavily. Three distinct but equally weighty imperial edicts were delivered by eunuchs to the Xilin, Beijing, and Anchen palaces, respectively.

She walked to the imperial desk and looked out the window at the precious peonies that had once been carefully cared for but now had withered away. There was no sadness or joy in her eyes, only the emperor's cold and resolute determination.

The withered flowers were cast on the window paper by the light of palace lanterns, like an indelible scar on the royal reputation.

"The greatest tragedy for the imperial family is to destroy the Great Wall..." A majestic whisper pierced the silence, "Pass on my oral order: From this day forward, no more peonies may be planted in the Imperial Garden."