TIGR Chapter 108

The Imperial Guard’s Revenge

Chapter 108 Pursuit

When Lu Heng finished speaking, a pin-drop silence descended onto the palace. The emperor leaned back against the bed, listening without saying a word. Empress Fang grew anxious and quickly stood up, saying: “Your Majesty, I had no knowledge of this. How dare this lowly maid lie and deceive me?”

As she spoke, Empress Fang turned to angrily reprimand Xu Xiyue. Xu Xiyue was startled and, after waking from a moment of shock, desperately bowed her head. Her lips trembling so much she couldn’t articulate a word. Empress Fang immediately waved her hand toward the eunuchs and, with a serious expression, commanded: “This lowly maid dared to deceive me, take her away.”

Her voice was urgent and sharp, almost as if she wanted to personally cover Xu Xiyue’s mouth, but everyone in the palace was experienced. Usually, in such situations, the eunuchs would step forward to assist the empress. However, this time, despite Empress Fang calling out twice, no one in the hall moved.

As Lu Heng did not express any stance, the Imperial Guards naturally wouldn’t heed the empress’ orders. The head eunuch, Assistant Zhang, kept his head bowed and remained silent, and none of the inner or outer eunuchs dared to act.

Empress Fang’s expression subtly changed as she tightly clenched her fists and looked at the emperor: “Your Majesty…”

Finally, the emperor spoke, his tone indifferent: “This woman has falsely accused a concubine, deceived the emperor, and betrayed her master. Drag her away and have her beaten to death.”

Only then did the eunuchs move. Assistant Zhang acknowledged the command and signaled his subordinates to quickly drag the maid away. When Xu Xiyue realized the fate that awaited her, her knees went weak, and she collapsed to the ground. Just as she was about to speak, a eunuch tightly covered her mouth.  She whimpered, desperately trying to say something, but the eunuchs gave her no chance and threw her out like a sack of grain.

Her sobbing quickly faded away outside, and Yikun Palace returned to silence. Empress Fang interlaced her delicate fingers, took a quiet breath, and earnestly looked at the emperor: “Your Majesty, I had no idea this maid would dare to deceive both the throne and the people, framing Imperial Concubine Duan and Concubine Wang Ning. I feared that the traitors might escape, and in a moment of panic, I had them detained. But I only ordered them to be questioned. I never intended harm toward Imperial Concubine Duan and Concubine Wang Ning. The subordinates acted on their own, and I had no knowledge of it!”

Everyone inside and outside the palace could see that Empress Fang was shifting the blame, first onto Xu Xiyue for implicating the concubines, then onto the eunuchs for using horrible methods. After all, the empress would not make mistakes, any fault would surely lie with her subordinates.

The crowd lowered their heads in silence, even their breathing deliberately lightened. The emperor leaned against the bed, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke: “Engaging in rebellion, framing palace concubines, and now daring to deceive the empress, it seems the harem needs to be cleaned up. Lu Heng.”

Lu Heng cupped his hands in response: “Yes.”

“Conduct a thorough investigation of the harem and eliminate all rebellious parties.”

Lu Heng’s expression remained unchanged as he calmly acknowledged the order. Assistant Zhang, standing nearby, felt a jolt of unease. The Imperial Guards and the East and West Departments had long been in a silent power struggle, with an unspoken boundary. Matters of the harem were the domain of the East and West Departments, and the Imperial Guards never intervened. Now, with the emperor allowing Lu Heng to investigate harem affairs, it shattered the last thread of authority held by the eunuchs.

Because Lu Heng was the commander in this dynasty, the Imperial Guards became increasingly dominant, forcing the eunuchs to smile and bow before them. This imperial decree was critical in tearing away the final layer of dignity from the East and West Departments, essentially declaring that the Imperial Guards would completely surpass them from now on.

The emperor’s voice, hoarse yet resonant, fell heavily on the ears of those present. Empress Fang’s heart raced. The emperor hadn’t pressed too hard regarding Imperial Concubine Duan and Concubine Wang Ning, showing he still valued their marital bond and her past kindness. However, this clear golden opportunity for her to take control of the harem, was now interfered with by Lu Heng and his wife.

If the emperor left matters to the eunuchs, she could still maneuver as she wished. However, with the Imperial Guards involved, she would have no say at all.

Harem affairs should be managed by her, the empress. In bypassing her and assigning it to an outside official, the emperor was effectively slapping her in the face. Empress Fang was dissatisfied but dared not challenge him openly.

It was said that Lu Heng never lost a case. If she offended him, he might very well turn his investigation towards her, and then it would be her sleepless nights. Moreover, his wife seemed to possess an uncanny ability.

Though Empress Fang didn’t believe anyone could read another’s thoughts just by looking at their face, Wang Yanqing’s earlier words echoed in her mind, making her wary of testing her luck further.

Reluctantly, Empress Fang did not want to face Lu Heng or Wang Yanqing any longer. She said: “It’s late, and I do not wish to disturb the emperor’s rest. I will take my leave now.”

The emperor nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then suddenly asked: “How is the eldest princess doing amidst the chaos in the palace today?”

The Empress Fang was startled and quickly looked up at the emperor “Your Majesty, the Grand Princess is sleeping in Kun Ning Palace. She is still very young, and her birth mother was involved in these affairs. I was afraid of startling the child, so I had the wet nurse take extra care of her.”

“The empress is considerate.” The emperor replied, “She may not sleep well in a different place. So, bring her to me.”

Empress Fang furrowed her brows. The emperor hadn’t pursued the matter regarding the Imperial Concubine Duan, yet he wanted to take back the Grand Princess. What did this mean? Empress Fang was very unwilling. As the imperial wife, she had already brought a concubine’s daughter to her side. If the child was taken again, how would the others in the harem view her? Empress Fang was reluctant, but when she noticed the emperor’s expression, she dared not defy him and could only resentfully bite her lip: “Yes.”

Empress Fang left, and Assistant Zhang went to Kun Ning Palace to fetch the Grand Princess. Once they were gone, the emperor said to Lu Heng: “These messy affairs need an explanation. Publicly, you should say that Yang Jinying and the other sixteen were executed by the Imperial Guards and their heads displayed in the market. Yang Jinying confessed that Concubine Wang Ning was involved, and Imperial Concubine Duan knew about the matter. Later they both committed suicide in guilt.”

Lu Heng calmly accepted the order. This was the role of the Imperial Guards. They carried out actions that those in power could not openly declare, and when necessary, they took the blame for the emperor and empress. After all, the people were already dead. Why tell the world and future generations that the empress cruelly killed a palace concubine out of jealousy?

Sometimes, the truth was so ugly that even those in power didn’t want to acknowledge it.

Lu Heng took his orders and went to clean up the traces, handling the aftermath for Empress Fang, and forging related documents and materials to completely rewrite this incident from history. Wang Yanqing followed Lu Heng as they left. As they were about to pass through a partition, the emperor suddenly asked: “Can you tell when someone is lying?”

Wang Yanqing stopped. When she saw everyone looking at her, she finally realized the emperor indeed spoke to her. She turned and bowed to the emperor, cautiously replying: “Not necessarily. I can only see through lies if there are visible flaws. If someone is meticulous in planning and flawless, I wouldn’t be able to tell even if I had two years.”

Lu Heng felt a chill run down his spine.

The emperor seemed to have asked that question casually and did not pursue it further, showing instead weariness. Noticing this, the eunuchs hurriedly stepped forward to attend to him. Lu Heng took his leave again, leading Wang Yanqing away.

Once they exited Yikun Palace, Wang Yanqing finally let out a long breath. Lu Heng walked beside her, shielding her from the cold wind in the palace corridors: “Let me take you home first.”

Wang Yanqing understood that Lu Heng still had many matters to attend to. She also knew well that the walls of the palace had ears, so she said nothing on the way. After exiting the palace gates, she got into the carriage and turned around to find Lu Heng had followed her.

Surprised, she asked: “Why did you come in?”

Lu Heng settled into the carriage and calmly replied: “I have an injury on my shoulder, so it’s inconvenient to ride.”

Wang Yanqing was momentarily taken aback by this excuse and found herself at a loss for words. The carriage started moving, rumbling through the quiet capital. Wang Yanqing stared at her fingers, lost in thought.

She recalled the day of the wedding when Lu Heng had been shot by an arrow. He had roughly broken off the tail feathers himself, and she wondered how deep the arrow had pierced. After his injury, he hardly rested. First, he was busy capturing assassins, and now he had to deal with the mess in the palace…

Ultimately, if it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t have been shot.

Once Lu Heng mentioned his shoulder injury, Wang Yanqing waited for him to bring it up again. But apart from the initial mention, he never spoke of it again. In a businesslike tone, he said: “Tomorrow, I’ll look into Yang Jinying’s connections. I’ll need your help with that. Today, I offended Empress Fang, so she might make things difficult for you in the future. I’ll arrange special guards for you, but just in case, you mustn’t leave alone, especially don’t go to that secluded palace north of the Imperial Garden.”

Wang Yanqing sensed something was off in his tone and asked: “What happened?”

She had been in the palace before, so she understood the importance of being cautious and discreet. Why did Lu Heng need to emphasize this? Lu Heng sighed and said: “I’m just being overly suspicious, worried that you might also make a mistake. I couldn’t help but remind you. I shouldn’t have gone that far. Just pretend you didn’t hear it.”

But with his words, Wang Yanqing felt she could no longer pretend not to have heard. After a moment of thought, she tentatively asked: “How did Imperial Concubine Duan and Concubine Wang Ning die?”

Lu Heng looked at her, hesitated, and finally sighed: “One was executed by lingchi, and the other hanged.”

Wang Yanqing gasped: “Lingchi?”

Lu Heng covered her hand and squeezed it tightly: “Don’t think about it. These matters have nothing to do with you. You exposed that maid’s lies and restored their reputations, which was a huge help to them.”

Wang Yanqing had only heard of lingchi in history books, and just from those sparse descriptions, she felt as if she could smell the overwhelming stench of blood. She never expected that such a brutal punishment could occur so close to her, affecting a woman she knew.

Remembering the bright and cheerful nature of the favored concubine, her heart felt incredibly heavy: “They were so young.”

Lu Heng remained silent, simply tightening his grip on Wang Yanqing’s hand. When he walked in today and saw the ground soaked in crimson, his first reaction, aside from surprise, was fear. Empress Fang wouldn’t have the courage to lay a hand on Wang Yanqing, but Lu Heng couldn’t help but think. If one day he miscalculated or lost a battle, and someone treated Wang Yanqing that way, what would he do?

Just imagining it drove him to madness.

Guo Tao was so disgusted he didn’t even want to eat meat. While Lu Heng had no physical reaction, he felt deeply shaken inside. For the first time, he seriously reflected on the position he held and the path he was on. Was it too dangerous?

Wang Yanqing increasingly found the situation unfathomable: “Why would Empress Fang do this?”

Had she gone mad?

Lu Heng, who had little interest in palace affairs, replied casually: “Ten taels of gold is enough to make a brave man kill, and the palace nurtures the highest power in the world. What can’t happen there?”

Wang Yanqing furrowed her brow deeply and asked: “Are you saying she did it for the Grand Princess? But there are three princes in the palace…”

Lu Heng shook his head, a faint, almost humorless laugh escaping his chest: “With three princes, it was impossible to act. The mothers of all three princes couldn’t be implicated in a plot of rebellion. That would be too obvious. We don’t yet know which of the three princes will truly stand out, but the Grand Princess was undoubtedly the most favored. The emperor went to Imperial Concubine Duan’s palace frequently because of the Grand Princess. Why worry about not being able to give birth to her own prince if she could just take the eldest princess away?”

Wang Yanqing understood but found it hard to accept. Empress Fang, the empress without any children, was one of the first to enter the palace. Over the years, she had watched everyone around her become pregnant one after another, while she remained completely barren. How could her heart not become twisted? The previous two empresses were deposed due to their inability to bear children, and Empress Fang had neither the emperor’s favor nor the backing of a powerful family. If she had no children, her removal wouldn’t be far off.

The emperor now had three sons and one daughter. Although the three princes seemed respectable, it was still too early to make bets on them. If Empress Fang could bring down a mother of one of the princes and take the child into her care, she might very well be sewing clothes for someone else’s son. The Grand Princess, on the other hand, was the most valuable. The emperor doted on her so much. If she had the Grand Princess by her side, the emperor would frequently visit Kun Ning Palace, and Empress Fang wouldn’t have to worry about not having children.

Hence, she was so impatient that she killed the Grand Princess’s mother, Imperial Concubine Duan, eliminating a favored concubine while gaining a child, killing two birds with one stone. As for Concubine Wang Ning, she likely had past grievances with Empress Fang and became a target of her anger.

Wang Yanqing felt heavy-hearted. Lu Heng patted the back of her hand and said: “Don’t worry. Since I brought you into the palace, I will get you out safely.”

Without realizing it, Lu Heng had moved closer to Wang Yanqing. She noticed but couldn’t bring herself to push him away because of the seriousness in his promise. Although Lu Heng always claimed he was not a good person, he was impeccable in his treatment towards women.

He was a responsible bad guy.

Wang Yanqing had her doubts about Lu Heng’s intentions but never about her own safety. She believed he would not abandon her. Looking back over the past two years, aside from deceiving her from the beginning, he had not mistreated her in any other way.

However, if he could treat her well, he could treat other women well, too. He refused to tell her the truth, how could she dare commit her life to him? Wang Yanqing believed she had no outstanding qualities. In the future, there will certainly be younger and more beautiful women than her. If he were to develop feelings for someone else and keep a mistress outside, would he also hide it from her?

Wang Yanqing felt she was in a state of being slowly boiled like a frog, both struggling and numb. Wang Yanqing asked: “Why did you target Empress Fang today?”

“I was not targeting her.” Lu Heng said, “I was asking on behalf of the emperor. Decaying flesh will eventually fester, and the emperor will inevitably harbor resentment. It’s better to confront it early and pick it out first.”

So, when Wang Yanqing was asking the maid about her origins, Lu Heng intentionally claimed it was a tactic to unsettle Empress Fang and Xu Xiyue. If they became nervous, they would make mistakes, and those mistakes could be caught by Wang Yanqing.

Wang Yanqing lowered her head, quietly contemplating the phrase “decaying flesh will fester.” Lu Heng sensed that Wang Yanqing was conflicted and was unsure whether to bring it up, but ultimately decided to follow his instincts. He said: “I know you hold some resentment towards me. Between the two of us, is it just decaying flesh, or has it already festered into a wound?”

“Does it make a difference?”

“It makes no difference. Regardless of size, I will dig out everything that is rotten.” Lu Heng decided to stop pretending. He opened his arms, and embraced Wang Yanqing, resting his chin on her hair, “In some ways, I can understand Empress Fang’s feelings. Jealousy is a terrifying force. It can drive people to do unimaginable things. I want to respect your thoughts, but I can’t bear to let you go. It was wrong of me to deceive you, no matter how many reasons I had, and it doesn’t change what I did. But I want to try again.”

Wang Yanqing raised her long neck, sitting up straight. She didn’t evade his gaze but also didn’t respond. Lu Heng tightened his arms around her and said: “Can you give me another chance to ask for your hand in marriage? This time, you have your memories and fully understand who I am. Then you can consider whether you’re willing to marry me.”

Wang Yanqing also felt that there had to be a resolution between them. She could calmly wish Fu Tingzhou well, but her feelings for Lu Heng were always contradictory. She couldn’t forgive his deception, yet she couldn’t bring herself to sever ties. Perhaps this opportunity was not only for him but also for herself.

Wang Yanqing asked: “If I still don’t want to this time, will you truly let me go?”

Lu Heng’s fingers tightened. He wanted to bet on her softening heart, but he hadn’t expected to wager so much. In the end, he thought to himself that you can’t catch a wolf without letting go of the child. He gritted his teeth and said: “Alright.”

“Okay.” Wang Yanqing nodded decisively and asked, “When is the deadline?”

Lu Heng raised an eyebrow, finding it quite absurd: “There’s a deadline too?”

“If you pursue me for ten or eight years, do you expect me to spend my whole life with you?” Wang Yanqing tore apart Lu Heng’s hidden trap and said coldly, “Since it’s your request, you should set the timeline.”

The one seeking peace must first show their terms, this was the rule of the game. With his weakness in someone else’s hands, Lu Heng could only endure the pain and make a significant concession, saying reluctantly: “One year?”

As soon as Wang Yanqing heard this, she immediately tried to pry his hand away. Lu Heng quickly held her close to him, saying: “Six months.”

“No way. One month at most.”

Lu Heng insisted, holding onto her tightly: “Three months, no less. If it’s shorter, just pretend I never said anything before, and I won’t let you go.”

Wang Yanqing was furious. Did he really think he was making a deal without any gains? But with someone so shameless, she couldn’t pry his hand away. In fact, the more she struggled, the tighter he held on. With no choice, Wang Yanqing finally agreed: “Fine, it’s a deal. Three months. After that, we can decide whether to part ways, and no one is allowed to go back on their word.”

This was the first time Lu Heng had received such a strict mandate. Limited time, no room for failure, and no possibility of a remedy. But since this was the consequence of his own actions, so he could only reluctantly accept: “Okay.”

After their bargaining concluded, Wang Yanqing realized the carriage had stopped, and they had arrived at the residence. She pushed Lu Heng lightly and said: “Let go, I need to get out.”

Lu Heng sighed. They had almost reached the final step before, but now everything had been reset, and even a simple embrace felt like a luxury. He felt a twinge of regret, but at least he had some sense of shame. Finally, he slowly let go of Wang Yanqing and said: “I need to investigate the people around Yang Jinying tomorrow. I’ll come to pick you up at Chen (7-9 am).”

Xu Xiyue’s lies only proved that Concubine Wang Ning and Imperial Concubine Duan suffered unjustly, while the sixteen people around Yang Jinying remained a mystery. Empress Fang had destroyed the evidence, so to uncover the truth, they could only piece it together themselves.

Wang Yanqing nodded, pulled on her cloak, and walked outside. Lu Heng accompanied her to the side gate and, with a sense of self-awareness, stopped outside. The guards held lanterns to escort Wang Yanqing into the residence. After walking a few steps, she paused and looked back, seeing Lu Heng still standing in place.

He smiled at her and said: “Go back quickly and get some rest.”

Wang Yanqing replied with a soft “mm,” but didn’t move. After a moment of hesitation, she said quietly: “Remember to apply your medicine.”

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