Chapter 999: 994: Within Reason

Chapter 999: Chapter 994: Within Reason

The Empress of Xiliang, wearing a jade crown, sat within the Empress Dowager’s bedchamber, watching as the Xiliang elite soldiers slaughtered the leaders of the Eight Great Families, and the palace was immediately filled with constant screams.

The Empress of Xiliang’s expression was as somber as water, fresh blood splattered at her feet on the jeweled shoes gracing her, she gazed down and found the crimson too glaring.

The clan leaders of the Eight Great Families and the resisting men were all killed, leaving only blood-soaked women and children trembling amidst the corpses.

“Li Tianjiao! What is the point of killing our Eight Great Families’ clan leaders and family members today?” The wife of one clan leader, holding her young son tightly in her arms, shivered and cried out, “The leaders are pushed forward by the Eight Great Families, do you think killing one leader, slaughtering the leader’s family members will disperse the Eight Great Families? It won’t!”

“So…” Empress Li Tianjiao of Xiliang looked at the wife of the Yun clan leader, “How about I support your son to become the clan leader?”

“What?” The Yun clan leader’s wife seemed stunned by Li Tianjiao’s words.

Li Tianjiao turned to signal the head of the Imperial Guards beside her. The head brought forward eunuchs carrying two cups of honey dew, without a word, they forced open the mouth of the Yun clan leader’s wife and poured in the honey dew, then ordered the guards to yank her away, forcibly pouring the honey dew into the crying child.

“Ah! Ah!” The wife of the Yun clan leader, seeing her son’s small arms and legs hitting the head of the Imperial Guards yet still being forced to drink the honey dew, screamed and cried out, somehow mustering the strength to break free from those pulling her away, rushed to snatch back her son, ignoring the fact that she too had swallowed the honey dew, frantically trying to dig into the child’s throat, “Spit it out! Quickly, spit it out!”

The child cried and struggled.

“Rest assured… It’s not something that kills instantly!” Li Tianjiao spoke indifferently, “Even if you make him spit it out, you’ll have to exhaust yourself pouring it again, why bother?”

“Li Tianjiao! You will die a terrible death!” The wife of the Yun clan leader cried out hysterically.

“They all drank it! From now on, as long as you behave obediently, there will be an antidote every month, if not… prepare to die!” Li Tianjiao used the secret potion originally meant for the royal death warriors on the Eight Great Families.

“The formula for this secret potion is only known to the Empress Dowager. If you have the confidence to persuade her to kill me… you can try disobedience! Anyway, the Eight Great Families are numerous, for me, supporting anyone to power is the same!” Li Tianjiao’s voice was indifferent and cold.

“Li Tianjiao, you’re so brutal, a mass murderer… you’re destined for a bad end!” Someone shouted curses at the Empress of Xiliang.

Li Tianjiao lowered her eyes, and in an instant, blood splattered… that woman fell to the ground, motionless.

The killing to set an example silenced the hall.

The Eight Great Families’ respect for her, the Empress of Xiliang, had completely vanished, fortunately… today she made up her mind, otherwise, who knows what major disaster might brew in the future!

“Those of the Eight Great Families willing to hand over the granaries, if they obediently listen from now on can stay, those unwilling… will send their entire families on the road!” After speaking, Li Tianjiao stood up and walked outside.

The remaining members of the Eight Great Families quickly submitted, some who knew the location of their granaries immediately reported, those who didn’t claimed they would find out and report right away after returning.

But their speed was far inferior to that of Xiao Ruohai. As dawn was breaking, the Empress of Zhou, who hadn’t slept all night, received news that the granaries of the Eight Great Families were burned.

The Empress of Zhou stood up in shock, “What did you say?!”

The messenger, covered in soot, looked up, “The granaries of the Eight Great Families were doused in strong fire oil and set ablaze. We originally rushed to take over, but after fighting the fire all night, the grain… is likely unfit for consumption!”

Li Tianjiao clenched her fists tightly, “All eight granaries, burned?”

“Yes! All burned! The people of the Eight Great Families went to fight the fire too… but they still couldn’t save it!”

The speed of this action was so swift that besides Cui Fengnian… Li Tianjiao did not suspect anyone else.

Initially, Li Tianjiao thought Cui Gongxing cooperated with the Eight Great Families to stir up chaos in Xiliang, she was the one advising them and inciting the people to abandon farming, invest in silk, furs, and papermaking, and have the Eight Great Families use indispensable grain to reap the people’s hard-earned silver taels.

Therefore, the only person besides the Eight Great Families who could know the whereabouts of their granaries was none other than Cui Fengnian.

And who would burn the Eight Great Families’ granaries at such a critical juncture, it could only be… Cui Fengnian, who might be an infiltrator for the enemy nation!

Li Tianjiao clenched her fists tightly, shouted, “Someone! Go and arrest Cui Fengnian for me! If met with resistance, kill without mercy!”

“Yes!”

The head of the Xiliang Imperial Guards led five hundred men to the Cui Mansion to apprehend Cui Fengnian, surrounding it impenetrably, and the guards barged in.

The servants of the Cui Mansion awoke from their slumber, barely dressed, and upon arriving outside, saw the knife-wielding guards with torches rushing in, each frightened such that they dared not move, like quails.

“By the order of Her Majesty, apprehend the spy Cui Fengnian! Where is Cui Fengnian… hand him over immediately!” The head of the Imperial Guards shouted loudly.

In the flickering firelight, a servant of the Cui Mansion boldly stepped forward and whispered, “Master… the young master went to dine with the Zhou envoy last night, and hasn’t returned!”

The head of the Imperial Guards was stunned upon hearing this, not daring to rashly go to the Zhou envoy’s place to demand the person, he could only send someone back to report to the Empress of Xiliang and await instructions on how to proceed.

After hearing this, Li Tianjiao sat silently on the Dragon Throne for a long while; things she couldn’t understand before became clear.

This Cui Fengnian might have been sent by the Jin Kingdom; she intended to use the Eight Great Families to divide Xiliang, but didn’t anticipate Zhou replacing Jin, and it was only after Cui Fengnian set fire to the granaries that he went to seek allegiance with the Zhou envoys.

She laughed softly, a sense of utter exhaustion threatening to crush her, she almost couldn’t bear the weight. She didn’t know what to do now; if A Ye were still here, how would he handle this?

After a moment, Li Tianjiao gathered her spirits and said, “Prepare the carriage, I want to see the Zhou envoy.”

Li Tianjiao changed clothes, left the palace quietly in simple dress, and decided to meet these two personally.

·

Last night, word spread that the Empress Dowager of Xiliang was gravely ill and unlikely to survive the night, secretly summoning the Zhai family, one of the Eight Great Families, to the palace for last rites. The Eight Great Families were astir, bringing their families to the palace, where Bai Qingqi and Bai Jintong sensed something unusual.

After much thought, Bai Qingqi decided to let Bai Jintong openly come to his place, after all, he was now the Zhou envoy, and Cui Fengnian was formerly from Jin and now a subject of Zhou, protecting Cui Fengnian was thus reasonable for Bai Qingqi.

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