Chapter 86
He Hongluo had escorted—no, more like escorted under guard—Qi Xiao back to the capital, and he had truly worried himself sick the entire way. He was terrified that Qi Xiao might slip away midway. He had been commissioned by imperial decree to capture Prince Bairei. If he failed to bring back the prince, that was one thing, but if he let the Crown Prince, who had been charged with the crime of "colluding with the enemy," escape, then even with ten heads, he wouldn't have enough to survive the Emperor's wrath upon returning to the capital.
Contrary to He Hongluo's expectations, Qi Xiao had been perfectly compliant the entire journey, never once appearing flustered or deep in scheming an escape. Kneeling in the great hall now, He Hongluo looked at the Qi Xiao before him and shook his head. Far from being unruffled—throughout the journey, Qi Xiao had been utterly nonchalant!
That day, after they had drawn blades against each other, Qi Xiao had been like a wrathful Asura reborn, gripping his bloodstained sword as they对峙ed for three full hours. Only after he estimated that Bairei had escaped back to Lingdu did he lower his great sword, turn to He Hongluo with a cold smile, and say: "Don't be afraid. The prince is gone. I won't kill you."
He Hongluo had nearly choked on his rage at those words. Qi Xiao had committed an egregious crime, and instead of He Hongluo intimidating him, Qi Xiao actually had the nerve to mock him! And then Qi Xiao had grown even more extravagant, saying that since there was no rush to pursue anyone, they could no longer endure hardships and travel roughly. Along the way, they must eat only the finest local delicacies and stay only at the best estates—anything less was unacceptable. One evening, when the bedding was not made of plain silk damask, Qi Xiao had simply flung the quilt to the ground and demanded that He Hongluo go to a silk merchant to get proper bed linens. Driven nearly mad by Qi Xiao's constant orders, in a moment of fury He Hongluo had muttered: "Who knows what'll become of you in the future—why put on such airs now?" Before he could finish speaking, Qi Xiao's personal guard had struck him across the face with such force that it nearly knocked his back teeth out!
As for Qi Xiao, he had taken a silk handkerchief, dabbed the corner of his mouth with a smile, and said calmly: "A phoenix will not perch except on the paulownia tree, will not eat except the fruit of the parasol tree, will not drink except from the Lique Spring... Commander He, all men are born to their station. I suspect you will never comprehend such principles. So let me make it simple for you—I am still the Crown Prince. When I tell you to do something, you do it. Do you understand now?"
He Hongluo's face had flushed purple with indignation, leaving him speechless and resentful. He stalked away in a rage.
He Hongluo had endured Qi Xiao's tyranny throughout the journey, and now that they had finally returned to the capital, he had breathed an enormous sigh of relief. His heart was filled with cold satisfaction—fine, so you're capable, are you? Get yourself out of this then! Only if you actually escaped would I truly be impressed!
The Emperor listened quietly to He Hongluo's report, then coldly turned his gaze to Qi Xiao and asked in a low voice: "Crown Prince, is everything Commander He has said true?"
Qi Xiao met the Emperor's gaze head-on and replied indifferently: "It is true."
The Emperor slammed the table and rebuked angrily: "Wretched creature!"
The ministers in the hall hastily knelt, saying in unison: "Please calm Your Majesty's anger."
Only Qi Xiao did not kneel. He showed not the slightest fear on his face, and turning toward his personal guard outside the hall, he said: "Bring forward the secret report."
The guard entered the hall, both hands presenting a bloodstained letter. The Emperor frowned and glanced at Fu Hailu, who descended from the dragon-prostrated golden steps, took the secret report, and presented it to the Emperor.
Filled with doubts, the Emperor opened the letter and after scanning through it his expression grew grave. Raising his head, he frowned and asked: "Is this genuine?"
Qi Xiao replied calmly: "The letter was given to me by Bairei. It was because he received this that he was in such a hurry to return to Lingnan."
The Emperor remained half-convinced and half-suspicious. The Prime Minister could not contain himself and stepped forward, saying: "Your Majesty, may I ask what this letter states?"
The Emperor passed the letter to Fu Hailu: "Read it."
After Fu Hailu finished reading it aloud, everyone in the hall was stunned.
Li Wenxing's face paled: "This letter... could it be from the King of Western Yi to Dongling Wenyu?"
Everyone looked at Qi Xiao, who remained calm as ever, shaking his head: "I am not certain."
Had Qi Xiao spoken with absolute certainty, perhaps the court would have believed him less. But precisely because Qi Xiao also appeared doubtful, everyone could not help but suspect that perhaps... it was true?
Qi Xiao slowly said: "I am not certain, but the tone is undeniably that of the King of Western Yi. Ever since the incident occurred, I have had my suspicions. Dongling Wenyu was just in the capital three months ago—his character needs no elaboration from me. Does he have the courage to murder his father and seize the throne? Without the covert instigation of the King of Western Yi and Western Yi as his backing, would he dare to rebel?"
Qi Xiao turned to look at Zhou Deyi: "Minister Zhou once served as the Military Governor of Lingnan Circuit. The situation in the south—you should know it better than I, correct? If Western Yi were to join forces with Lingnan, would the two not complement each other perfectly, like a tiger gaining wings?"
Zhou Deyi, suddenly addressed, was startled and hastily stepped forward: "Your Majesty, the south... what His Highness the Crown Prince says is true. Lingnan and Western Yi are indeed positioned in a pincer formation. If they joined forces, it would indeed be troublesome."
Qi Xiao continued: "I do not know whether this is truly genuine. I only know that if this letter is real, if this great catastrophe is truly being orchestrated behind the scenes by the King of Western Yi, then even if Your Majesty dispatched thirty thousand troops, they would likely march to their deaths."
"Bairei is different from Wenyu. He was enfeoffed as prince by Your Majesty himself. He could have ascended the throne smoothly without bearing the crime of treason. Therefore, what he says, I believe."
"At the battlefront, I originally intended to capture Bairei personally. But Bairei kept evading me. At that moment, I sensed something was wrong. When I finally subdued him, Bairei gave me this secret report and explained everything. After Wenyu's rebellion, Cen Chaoge, Bairei's former study companion, managed to smuggle out this secret letter that Minister Wen had desperately intercepted. He gave it to Bairei, who immediately decided to return to Lingnan at once. He was determined to purge his household before Wenyu and Western Yi could join forces—to kill this man who lacks all sense of righteousness toward his country. Only in this way could he console the deceased Prince of Lingnan and spare the southern border's people from the suffering of war. After careful deliberation, I released Bairei."
Qi Xiao stared directly at the Emperor, his eyes clear and bright: "I would gladly bear the crime of disobeying military orders, rather than allow the disaster from Western Yi to be brought upon our Great Xiang!"
The ministers, though normally engaged in factional scheming and political intrigue, shared the same stance when facing external enemies. The moment Qi Xiao spoke these words, many ministers who had only believed three parts of his story now believed nine.
He Hongluo knelt in the center of the hall, practically stunned. After a long moment, he suddenly blurted: "That's not right! Your Majesty, that's not right! The Crown Prince, when he confronted me at the battlefront, didn't say anything like this! The Crown Prince said he had wanted to release the prince long ago, but because he feared that releasing him too early would cause Your Majesty to send others in pursuit, he waited until they reached the southern border before acting. That's—that's what he said! Many people heard it and saw it! I cannot lie about this!"
The Emperor fixed Qi Xiao with a deep gaze: "Crown Prince, how do you explain what Commander He has said?"
Qi Xiao laughed lightly and turned to look at He Hongluo: "Such classified information—if I hadn't fought desperately to conceal it, would you have had me shout it aloud at the battlefront? Commander He, have you gone mad? We were less than three hundred li from Lingnan at the time! If we had carelessly let the information leak to Western Yi's people, they would have immediately sent someone to kill Bairei and his party. Then... Lingnan would truly have fallen into Western Yi's hands!"
Qi Xiao turned to the Emperor: "If it weren't for concealing this intelligence, I would have immediately accompanied His Highness back to Lingnan to fight! But firstly, I considered that I must not arbitrarily interfere in Lingnan's affairs, lest I cause difficulty for Your Majesty in the future. Secondly, I thought... this is, after all, a family matter of the Dongling clan. Unilaterally assisting them would inevitably leave us open to criticism later. Therefore, I refrained from further meddling."
Qi Xiao turned to address He Hongluo directly: "If I had released Bairei out of personal motives, why wouldn't I have gone with him to fight?"
He Hongluo was speechless, stammering: "I—I still had a thousand soldiers under my command. You knew you couldn't defeat me..."
"Commander He, choose your words carefully!" Censor Zhang from the Censorate interrupted sternly. "In the great hall, this is simply unruly behavior! How dare you speak to the Crown Prince that way?!"
He Hongluo hastily lowered his head and dared not say another word.
Qi Xiao continued: "This secret letter—from the paper, to the ink marks, to the handwriting—all constitute evidence. If anyone disbelieves, it may be sent to the Court of Judicial Review for a thorough investigation. Let them determine whether I am lying! I released Bairei because he can uphold righteousness, take control of Lingnan, and draw a clear line separating himself from Western Yi. Only in this way can great disaster be averted! It has already been more than ten days. The truth or falsity of this matter will be determined in time!"
Qi Xiao knelt down and said coldly: "Although my conscience is clear, I did act without authorization. I knowingly commit a crime. I ask Your Majesty to pass judgment!"
Zhou Deyi hesitated, then stepped forward: "Your Majesty, although the Crown Prince acted rashly, it was indeed for understandable reasons. I implore Your Majesty to deliberate carefully." Zhou Deyi had spent most of his life in the south—nobody understood better than he the tremendous threat that Western Yi and Lingnan united would pose.
Many senior ministers also stepped forward to plead for Qi Xiao. Gradually, half the hall was kneeling. Although the Emperor remained half-convinced and half-suspicious, at this moment he absolutely could not punish him severely. Moreover, the Emperor's heart was already in turmoil. Fu Hailu had just taken the secret letter to a side chamber and had others examine it—there was not a single discrepancy. The Emperor, who had feared war his entire life, was now secretly hoping that Bairei would succeed to the throne smoothly. In that case, he could mete out some light punishment and be done with it. As long as they didn't actually end up in a military conflict...
The Emperor looked at Qi Xiao. He dared not wage war, not only because he was unskilled in military matters and had no generals he could trust, but also because... the Emperor feared that the capital would be left vulnerable, giving Qi Xiao an opening to seize the throne by force. He also feared that the soldiers and generals might still remember the late Emperor Wu's benevolence, and after a great battle, might keep their troops and refuse to return, staging a military remonstrance demanding that he pass the throne to Qi Xiao!
And furthermore... would Qi Xiao truly be willing to take such a enormous risk just for Bairei?
The Emperor did not believe it.
Seeing that nearly everyone in the hall had knelt down to plead for Qi Xiao, the Emperor had no choice but to wave his hand and say: "Enough! For now, the Crown Prince shall be confined to the Crown Prince's residence under house arrest. The rest shall be discussed later!"
He Hongluo collapsed to the ground. Was it... just going to end like that, so lightly? Qi Xiao had spoken a few words and overturned his entire case, and had even cleared Bairei's crime of fleeing? They... had become men of merit?
Qi Xiao's peripheral vision swept over He Hongluo, and a cold smile flickered in his heart. When Emperor Wu of old had led the northern campaign against the Xiongnu, he had strategized within his command tent and won battles a thousand miles away—he had never fought a single unprepared battle. And the son of the God of War, Emperor Wu, Qi Xiao was more than his equal.
As for that secret letter, which had been fabricated back when they were still in the capital, Qi Xiao smiled faintly in his heart. He was confident that no one could find a single flaw in it. If they had the ability, let them go confront the King of Western Yi themselves.