EWRN - Chapter 45
Chapter 45: Secret Strategy
In a short while, the guards dragged the Second Prince, who had fainted and whose back and buttocks were still seeping blood, back into the hall. The ministers couldn't help but draw a sharp breath at the sight of the mangled Second Prince. With a single burst of imperial wrath, the Second Prince had lost half his life. It was truly… truly ruthless!
The current emperor could be so cruel to his own brother, let alone the unrelated ministers. It seemed they would have to act with more caution from now on.
Huo Jinyu's emotionless gaze swept over the unconscious Second Prince. Suddenly, she said, "Eunuch Wang, summon the imperial physician."
None of the ministers understood the meaning of His Majesty's action. They could only assume that the Emperor had suddenly been reminded of their brotherly bond and couldn't bear it any longer, intending to show the Second Prince mercy and save him.
After a moment, an imperial physician from the Imperial Academy of Medicine hurried over, carrying his medical kit. As soon as he entered the great hall, he knelt in salute. Huo Jinyu said, "Rise," and only then did he get to his feet.
"I wonder for what important matter Your Majesty has summoned this old subject?" the physician asked, looking up with cupped hands, not even glancing at the Second Prince who lay on the floor like a dead fish.
Huo Jinyu nodded slightly, satisfied with the physician's grasp of the situation.
"Wake the Second Prince for Us," Huo Jinyu's majestic voice reached everyone's ears.
"Wake him up," not treat him, nor bandage him—just wake him up. The physician understood Huo Jinyu's meaning perfectly. Unhurriedly, he opened his medical kit and took out several extremely long silver needles. The slender, large-headed needles glinted sharply in the daylight, their sharpness evident. A few ministers who feared pain hissed, drawing in a cold breath, as if the needles had already pierced their own bodies.
The physician took out a white cloth soaked in alcohol, wiped the needles lightly, turned the Second Prince Huo Jinye over with his hands, found the acupoints, and with extremely swift hands, plunged the needles into Huo Jinye's acupoints.
In just a few breaths, the unconscious Huo Jinye's eyes shot open. Feeling the searing pain from his acupoints and his back, he let out a bloodcurdling wail.
The sound of his wailing echoed throughout the great hall. After a short while, the Second Prince recovered his senses and realized he was in the throne room, with all the civil and military officials watching him. Only then did he fall silent. Hearing his wails, some officials felt a pang of pity, but they all knew that the Second Prince had indeed been solely responsible for organizing last night's Rite of Heaven banquet. It was also true that an assassination attempt on His Majesty had occurred at the banquet. With the Emperor enraged and assigning blame, the Second Prince was bound to be the first to take the fall. A few conspiracy-minded ministers even began to boldly speculate that the Second Prince had orchestrated the assassination himself, with the goal of killing the Emperor to usurp his position!
It had to be said, the ministers' powers of speculation were close to the truth. However, none of them spoke out of turn, instead choosing to watch how things developed.
From her high seat, Huo Jinyu watched the Second Prince's agonized wails, a flicker of excitement flashing through her eyes, gone in an instant. Seeing the enemy of two lifetimes suffer, she was truly ecstatic. She wanted to hear him cry and wail, to hear him beg for mercy without a shred of dignity, to inflict every possible torture upon him!
She would! There would be such a day! She would make it happen! Since the heavens had allowed her, a vengeful ghost, to be reborn, she would surely find such an opportunity. And now, that opportunity was slowly ripening!
She wanted to destroy the kingdom, to make the ignorant commoners pay the price for their foolishness. She also wanted to personally torture the enemy who had taken her life in her previous existence. The blood of vengeance boiled, making her tremble slightly with excitement.
The pain made Huo Jinye's vision blur. He forced himself to look up at the Emperor seated on the high platform, his "good Imperial Brother." He didn't know when that gentle, jade-like, elegant young master had become so tyrannical and unpredictable. The old Huo Jinyu, his Eldest Imperial Brother, the Crown Prince of the Great Yuan Kingdom, was well-read and reasonable. He had doted on his younger imperial brothers to the point of being blindly partial. Whatever he wanted, his brother would strive to get for him. He was just short of handing over the crown prince's position itself!
He had originally thought this Imperial Brother was easy to manipulate, that the princely title and military authority he desired would be his sooner or later. But he never expected that, at some point, something had snapped in the Emperor. He was like a different person. Not only did he no longer dote on him, but he had even sent people to assassinate him! He had crippled his right hand, and now he wanted his life!
The pressure emanating from the Son of Heaven made Huo Jinye tremble uncontrollably, which in turn pulled at his injured flesh, causing sharp pain.
Huo Jinye's mind raced, thinking of how to turn defeat into victory, but his mouth was too bitter to utter a single sound.
"Our good Imperial Brother is finally awake," Huo Jinyu said faintly. "Regarding last night's assassination attempt, considering the fraternal bond between us, We shall spare your life for now!"
The Second Prince, having given up all hope, didn't react. He only regretted his reckless actions yesterday and that he had underestimated his Imperial Brother's martial arts.
"But while the death penalty may be waived, punishment cannot be escaped!" Huo Jinyu slammed her hand on the table, using a measure of her internal strength. The sound carried far, and cracks appeared on the solid wood table. The ministers were all stunned.
"Eunuch Wang, draft an edict! The Second Prince of Great Yuan, Huo Jinye, was negligent in organizing the Rite of Heaven banquet, incompetent in his duties, failed to protect the imperial carriage, disturbed the inner palace, and wounded the Emperor. His crimes are unforgivable! The criminal Second Prince is to be stripped of his official titles and punished by being sent to the northwestern border to guard the frontier and defend the nation! He is to depart with Grand General Hou immediately, without a moment's delay!" Huo Jinyu dictated the Second Prince's future, word by word.
Departing immediately, without a moment's delay, meant that Huo Jinye, stripped of his titles, was no different from a common soldier. He could not ride in a carriage and waste time; he could only ride on horseback with General Hou's party. On a normal day, this would be fine, but today Huo Jinye had received thirty strokes of the cane and been brutally woken with silver needles. His body was surely in agony. Add to that the jolting of a galloping horse, and it was likely he would lose more than half his life.
The Second Prince had clearly thought of this as well, and his face turned even paler with fear.
The northwestern border was a fine place, too. Strong winds all year round, an arid climate, and a gloomy atmosphere. One wondered if the pampered Second Prince would be able to endure the harsh life of a military camp.
Huo Jinyu waved her hand, dismissing the imperial physician. The physician bowed and then hurried away.
Immediately after, Huo Jinyu listened as the ministers began to discuss matters of the court. Eunuch Wang, beside her, wrote furiously, taking notes to facilitate reviewing the memorials later. The entire court, civil and military officials alike, ignored Huo Jinye lying on the floor, struggling to move. The Emperor's intentions were so obvious, who would be willing to court disaster?
Another hour passed before Huo Jinyu announced the end of the court session. She left the Hall of Imperial Governance on her own through a side door, with Eunuch Wang following closely behind.
Seeing the court session had ended, the civil and military officials all streamed out of the Hall of Imperial Governance. Only after everyone had gone did Young General Hou, Hou Yuwen, enter from outside the hall. He walked to Huo Jinye's side and carefully helped him up.
"It's good of Brother Hou to still remember this prince." Huo Jinye grimaced in pain, taking a long time to force out a single sentence.
"What is Your Highness saying? We are grasshoppers on the same rope. If I don't look after Your Highness, who will?" Hou Yuwen said, frowning and feigning righteousness.
"Heh." Huo Jinye didn't say much more. Grasshoppers on the same rope? He feared that wasn't the case. Hou Yuwen hadn't been implicated in the slightest in last night's events. Pitiful him, suffering all that physical torment for nothing.
Hou Yuwen seemed to sense Huo Jinye's displeasure and quickly said, "This matter is this humble subject's fault. I did not consider things thoroughly. On the journey to the border, this humble subject will take good care of Your Highness."
Only then did Huo Jinye's expression soften a little.
Supporting each other, the two left the Hall of Imperial Governance.
Night fell.
The Hall of the Slumbering Dragon was still brightly lit. Huo Jinyu dismissed the palace maids, leaving only Eunuch Wang behind.
She ordered Eunuch Wang to extinguish most of the lamps, and the entire hall instantly grew dark. A moment later, several squads of people dressed in tight-fitting black outfits appeared in the center of the hall, kneeling in rows to await orders. Eunuch Wang jumped in fright, thinking assassins had come again.
Huo Jinyu took out a gold medallion and gave it to Eunuch Wang. "Eunuch Wang, dismiss the guards at the national treasury for one night. This matter must not be spread. Come straight back when you are done."
Although Eunuch Wang was curious, he knew what he should and should not ask. He kept his mouth shut, took the gold medallion, and went to carry out his orders.
After a moment, Huo Jinyu ordered the people in black to head to the national treasury. An operation that would shock the world if revealed had begun.
The people in black entered the national treasury in an orderly line. From another direction in the palace, transport carts drove in one after another, lining up at the treasury entrance. The people in black then orderly carried out sack after sack of goods and loaded them onto the carts.
Huo Jinyu's move! She was actually emptying the national treasury!
One after another, the transport carts left through the rear gate of the imperial palace, heading towards Baili Mountain.
Another group of people in black came to the Hall of the Slumbering Dragon. Huo Jinyu opened a secret door, and they began to move the treasures from her private treasury.
The ministers would never have known that while they were sound asleep, their good Emperor, Huo Jinyu, was secretly ordering people to empty both the national and private treasuries!
The transport continued until the sky began to lighten at dawn. For this operation, a large number of the Brocade Guard Army were mobilized to finish completely before daylight. What a fine "secretly crossing at Chencang"!
Meanwhile, Huo Jinye had also left the imperial city with General Hou's party, heading straight for the northwestern border. After a day of being jolted on the road, Huo Jinye spectacularly fainted midway. Why wasn't he in a carriage? Because Huo Jinyu had long anticipated that the Second Prince, Huo Jinye, would try something, so she had ordered the captain of the imperial guards to accompany them and supervise the journey.
Huo Jinye had fainted, fainted from the sheer, raw pain. Even though Huo Jinye was a man, Young General Hou began to feel sorry for him. So as not to delay their travel time, on the second day, the Young General held Huo Jinye in his arms, and they mounted a horse together to continue towards the northwestern border.
Although the Second Prince was not a soft, fragrant beauty, he was still pampered. His body wasn't unpleasantly hard to the touch, so as the Young General held him, it wasn't so unacceptable.
Day broke. The treasury was empty, the Second Prince was gone, and there were even fewer people in the imperial palace.
Huo Jinyu had sent a great threat to the northwestern border, near the Northern Kingdom. As for the future path, everything had to be completely within her control!
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