Chapter 157

The dark mass of cavalry beneath the imperial city walls moved as one. On top of the Yanchi Tower, the troops from the two military camps also faced each other in tense opposition, poised to strike at any moment.

Behind the military formation in the square before the Meridian Gate, the sound of blades leaving their scabbards rang out in unison.

Wei Yan slightly turned his head and saw the cold gleam of swords and sabers reflected in the firelight.

The corner of Xie Zheng’s lips lifted faintly as he idly rolled the reins in his hand.

“Let him continue.”

They were only one step away from the truth.

Though he wore a calm smile, his eyes contained nothing but endless coldness.

A commotion suddenly erupted beyond the crowd.

A carriage came racing forward. The curtain was lifted, and Shadow Guards escorted Wei Xuan and Madam Wei out of the carriage.

“Madam Wei and Wei Xuan are here!”

On the city wall, Qi Min’s smile grew increasingly wild.

His pale, bluish hand rested against the freezing battlements as he looked down at Wei Yan.

“Perfect. Your wife and son are both here. I can guarantee this—if your men take even one more step forward, their heads will hit the ground.”

Both Madam Wei and Wei Xuan were tightly bound, cloth stuffed into their mouths.

Madam Wei looked at Wei Yan with anguish and guilt in her eyes. She wanted to speak, but only muffled sobs emerged. She could only shake her head desperately at him.

Wei Xuan’s eyes, meanwhile, were practically splitting with rage.

He had struggled against his ropes so fiercely that the veins in his neck bulged. The rope wound around his throat had rubbed his skin raw, leaving bloody abrasions.

When Xie Zheng saw Madam Wei, his cold phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.

The faint smile at his lips faded several degrees.

The followers around Wei Yan all looked toward him, waiting for instructions.

He remained silent for only a breath before issuing another order.

“Attack the city.”

This time, his trusted aides no longer hesitated.

One of them drew his sword and roared:

“Attack!”

Instantly, the soldiers from the two opposing camps atop the walls clashed together.

Below, part of the Three Thousand Battalion charged the palace gates that had been barricaded again, while the rest continued their standoff against Xie Zheng’s forces.

Qi Min gestured to a Shadow Guard below.

The guard immediately removed the cloth from Wei Xuan’s mouth.

By nature, Wei Xuan was fiercely proud.

The moment he could speak, he looked like a rabid beast.

His eyes bloodshot, he roared:

“If you’ve got the guts, kill me!”

The guard did not kill him.

Instead, he forced Wei Xuan to kneel and thrust a blade through his back into his shoulder blade before viciously twisting it.

Blood instantly soaked through his clothes and poured out in streams.

Wei Xuan let out a hoarse scream that shook everyone’s ears.

When the blade was finally pulled free, he could barely remain upright.

He collapsed forward onto the ground.

His face was deathly pale from pain and covered in sweat.

His filthy hair hung in tangled strands, soaking in the pool of blood spreading from his wound.

After regaining a little strength, his lips trembled.

The only words he managed were:

“Kill me…”

Madam Wei was beside him, restrained by another Shadow Guard.

The cloth still stuffed in her mouth prevented any sound from escaping.

She desperately tried to rush toward her son but was held firmly in place by the guard gripping her shoulder.

Her eyes were swollen red from crying, and she looked close to fainting.

Xie Zheng watched everything coldly.

His grip on the halberd tightened.

From atop the wall, Qi Min sneered.

“The Prime Minister truly has a heart of iron. Even his own son’s life means nothing to him.”

His gaze shifted to Madam Wei, who was crying so hard she could barely stand.

“Though Madam Wei need not grieve too much. After all, this isn’t the first time Prime Minister Wei has killed his own child.”

The words exploded through the crowd like a stone thrown into a still lake.

Even Grand Tutor Li was stunned.

Xie Zheng’s eyes darkened as well.

Wei Yan had another child?

Wei Yan, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly raised his eyes.

His voice carried overwhelming authority.

“Shut your mouth.”

Qi Min’s gaze finally returned to him.

Separated by the city platform, the two stared at one another from afar.

After seventeen years of vengeance, Qi Min felt unprecedented satisfaction.

With a light laugh, he said:

“What are you afraid of, Prime Minister? Back when you were sneaking into Qinghe Palace to sleep with Consort Shu, when you orchestrated the Jinzhou massacre for the bastard growing in her belly and caused the deaths of my royal father and Sixteenth Uncle, why didn’t you think about today?”

Compared to Qi Min’s exhilaration at nearing revenge, Wei Yan’s eyes held nothing except killing intent.

Not a trace of any other emotion remained.

He slowly issued another command.

“Kill everyone present today.”

One of his confidants immediately launched a signal flare.

The flare trailed sparks as it shot upward—

Only to be struck down by an arrow.

The sparks exploded in the crowd like a firecracker.

Wei Yan turned and looked behind him.

Xie Zheng sat astride his horse, bow in one hand.

A cold hatred, deep enough to devour flesh and bone, filled his eyes.

“So that’s why you killed my parents?”

Qi Min burst into laughter atop the wall.

“Killing his own younger sister and brother-in-law is nothing. After the affair was exposed and the late emperor intended to punish Consort Shu, Wei Yan personally burned Qinghe Palace to the ground, burning Consort Shu and the unborn child in her womb alive to destroy all evidence!”

He bit heavily on the final four words.

For a moment, even the battlefield at the palace gate seemed to fall silent.

Standing amid the bitter wind, Wei Yan spoke only a single cold word.

“Kill.”

The three forces collided once more.

Seeing that Wei Yan truly seemed indifferent to the lives of Madam Wei and Wei Xuan, a fierce look flashed across Qi Min’s face.

He shouted to the Shadow Guards below:

“Since Prime Minister Wei is so heartless, send Madam Wei and Young Master Wei to hell first!”

When Qi Min revealed the truth, Wei Xuan had already collapsed into the pool of blood.

He stared motionlessly at Wei Yan’s distant silhouette.

The muscles in his face tightened.

Blood vessels slowly surfaced in his eyes.

Tears rolled from the corners of his eyes, slid down the bridge of his nose, and fell into the blood beneath him.

When the executioner’s blade descended, he did not even bother struggling.

Only Madam Wei continued shaking her head at him through her tears, seemingly trying to say something despite the cloth gagging her mouth.

Just as the blade swung toward Madam Wei—

Xie Zheng swept his halberd.

The Shadow Guard was sent flying over ten feet away.

The strike aimed at Wei Xuan was intercepted by Wei family death guards who seemed to appear from nowhere.

Seven or eight signal flares shot into the night sky simultaneously.

Even arrows could no longer stop them all.

The Central Army Camp and Right Flank Camp still answered to the Li family.

The Central Army alone possessed the strength of two camps.

Although Wei Yan controlled the remaining two camps of the Five Armies, along with the Imperial Guards and Three Thousand Battalion, Xie Zheng and Tang Peiyi remained formidable obstacles below the city.

Originally, the three forces had barely maintained a balance.

But the moment a massive explosion erupted within the imperial palace—

Dozens of Central Army soldiers were blown into the air.

Everyone instantly understood.

The scales had completely tipped in Wei Yan’s favor.

The Imperial Guard informants bribed by Grand Tutor Li had already had their throats slit.

Looking at the artillery being dragged out by the Imperial Guard commander, Grand Tutor Li’s finger trembled as he pointed at Wei Yan.

“You… you transferred the Divine Mechanism Battalion’s weapons into the palace long ago?”

Snow continued to fall.

Wei Yan stood on the imperial avenue before the Meridian Gate, flames blazing around him.

Cold wind whipped through his wide sleeves.

“If I hadn’t thrown out the Divine Mechanism Battalion as bait, how could I have lured all of you into fighting over it?”

Qi Min gripped the battlements so hard that the joints in his fingers protruded.

His expression grew increasingly sinister.

Tang Peiyi and the others also looked grim.

“Lord Marquis, General Fan went to the Western Garden. Could she have fallen into that old fox Wei’s trap?”

Xie Zheng did not answer.

Savage killing intent churned in his eyes.

Suddenly he shouted, yanked the reins, and charged directly toward Wei Yan with his halberd raised.

The wind stirred by his warhorse nearly made Tang Peiyi choke.

Tang Peiyi quickly ordered his officers to follow and cover him.

At the same time, he shouted to He Xiuyun:

“Nephew! I’ll hold that old fox Wei here with the Marquis. Take men to the Western Garden and help Changyu!”

He Xiuyun had just knocked an enemy cavalry officer from his horse.

A strand of his tied hair had come loose, making him look somewhat disheveled.

He answered while fighting:

“If Wei Yan truly laid a deadly trap in the Western Garden, sending more men won’t help. Only by capturing that old fox can we save General Fan and the others!”

Seeing Xie Zheng tearing through enemy commanders like a god of slaughter, Tang Peiyi slapped his horse’s flank.

“Then I’ll go assist the Marquis!”

A golden mace suddenly swept toward him from the side.

Tang Peiyi nearly flattened himself against his horse’s back to avoid it.

Another heavy mace immediately followed, aimed directly at his waist.

He hurriedly raised his spear shaft to block.

Though he managed to stop the blow, both arms went numb from his palms to his shoulders.

“General!”

He Xiuyun noticed Tang Peiyi’s predicament.

His spear with its white tassel traced a dazzling arc through the air and thrust toward the attacker’s vital point.

The enemy raised his mace to block.

Taking advantage of the opening, Tang Peiyi quickly escaped and regrouped with He Xiuyun.

Spitting on the ground, he said with lingering fear:

“Damn it. Who is this guy? I’ve served in the military for decades and never seen anyone like him.”

The man casually deflected He Xiuyun’s spear and smashed his mace into the spear shaft.

Horse and rider were both forced backward several steps.

He Xiuyun’s fingers tingled as he tightened his grip again.

“He’s dangerous.”

The man merely smiled.

“You’re He Jingyuan’s son? Your skills are far inferior to your father’s.”

He Xiuyun demanded:

“You knew my father? Who exactly are you?”

The man replied coldly:

“The dead have no need to remember my name. And the son of that traitor He Jingyuan isn’t worthy of knowing it.”

He Xiuyun clenched his jaw.

Enraged, he spurred his horse forward again.

“My father devoted his life to the people! What right does Wei Yan’s dog have to judge him? I’ll kill you and then kill Wei Yan to avenge my father!”

The man merely tilted his head slightly and dodged the thrust.

His golden mace smashed into He Xiuyun’s arm.

The impact nearly shattered the bones in his hand.

He groaned.

The man then rammed his horse violently into He Xiuyun’s mount and struck his abdomen with another mace.

It felt as though his internal organs had ruptured.

He Xiuyun spat a cloud of blood and was sent flying from his horse.

“Nephew!”

Tang Peiyi roared with bloodshot eyes and charged.

He was quickly knocked from his horse as well.

Looking down at the two men, the rider sneered.

“Revenge? What revenge? If Prime Minister Wei hadn’t picked He Jingyuan out of a pile of starving refugees back then, he’d still be fighting wild dogs over spoiled porridge in the snow. How would he have enjoyed all the glory he later had?”

Clutching his stomach, He Xiuyun glared at him hatefully.

With difficulty, he said:

“For that… kindness… my father spent most of his life serving Wei Yan loyally. Why… why did Wei Yan kill him?”

The rider laughed coldly.

“Because if He Jingyuan were still alive, your family wouldn’t be receiving promotions and honors. The entire household would already be rotting in prison.”

Unwilling to waste further words, he raised his mace to deliver the killing blow.

A heavy metallic crash suddenly rang through the air.

A long halberd engraved with a Taotie-like Qiongqi pattern intercepted the strike.

The man looked up.

Seeing the stern young man on horseback holding the halberd with one hand, he grinned.

“The Young Marquis’s martial skills have improved greatly over the years. At least you haven’t disgraced General Xie.”

Hearing another of Wei Yan’s men mention Xie Linshan caused icy killing intent to flash through Xie Zheng’s eyes.

But he did not spare the man a single glance.

Instead, he ordered Tang Peiyi:

“Take him away.”

Tang Peiyi and He Xiuyun were both injured and knew they could not help further.

Supporting each other, they retreated toward safety.

The man withdrew his mace and rolled his wrist.

A smile remained on his face, but his eyes were sharp as blades.

“I am Wei Sheng. I was fortunate enough to serve as the Marquis’s martial arts instructor for several years. Today, I ask the Marquis for guidance.”

He belonged to the oldest group of death guards under Wei Yan and had long ago been granted the Wei surname.

As soon as he finished speaking, he activated a mechanism in the golden mace.

The mace transformed into a nine-section golden whip.

Metal chains linked each segment together.

Like a venomous serpent striking, it lashed directly toward Xie Zheng.

Xie Zheng watched coldly as the golden whip approached.

He made no move to block.

Only when it was about to reach his face did he shift slightly aside and avoid it.

At the same time, he struck like lightning and seized the whip.

Wei Sheng tugged hard.

When he realized he was evenly matched with Xie Zheng in strength, he showed no surprise.

Instead, he smiled.

The next instant, numerous golden hooks with backward-facing barbs sprang from the joints of the whip.

The hand with which Xie Zheng gripped the weapon instantly became a bloody mess.

The nine-section whip was notorious among weapons for its viciousness.

Many used it as a concealed weapon.

Wei Sheng’s modified version was even more sinister.

Unconcerned, he said:

“The final lesson I taught the Marquis is this—rules are only for people who follow rules. When dealing with those who don’t, talking about rules and morality is nothing but a joke.”