“Did he really say that?”
Xiao Ao’s eyes were dark and unreadable. Through the heavy curtains, he stared at Su Sheng kneeling on the ground.
His voice betrayed neither pleasure nor anger, but it inexplicably sent a chill down one’s spine.
Su Sheng replied respectfully: “Your servant would never dare to speak falsely.
Minister Liu of the Ministry of Justice and Deputy Minister Cui of the Dali Temple were both present at the time.
General Huo’s expression was absolutely terrifying—he even said that if anyone so much as touched a single hair on his mother’s head, he would resign from office.”
Clatter!
The teacup at Xiao Ao’s side shattered right in front of Su Sheng, startling him into a tremble. He quickly prostrated himself fully on the ground.
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger.
Perhaps General Huo, in his eagerness to protect his mother, spoke recklessly in the heat of the moment.”
Xiao Ao let out a cold snort: “I’m afraid it wasn’t reckless speech—he’s been thinking that for a long time!”
Su Sheng didn’t dare to respond and pressed his body even lower to the ground.
“After you delivered the decree, did the Imperial Preceptor just let it go?”
Su Sheng sighed: “How could that be!
Your Majesty doesn’t know—the Imperial Preceptor was about to fly back to his immortal mountain on his sword right then and there.
It took your servant pleading and begging for a long while before we finally settled on fining General Huo two years’ salary to distribute among the punished servants.
And even then, the Imperial Preceptor still wasn’t satisfied. Right before he left, he called down a bolt of heavenly lightning and struck dead the two matrons who had done the beating, right in front of Lady Huo Li.
Lady Huo Li turned as pale as death and fainted on the spot.
General Huo was busy tending to his mother and didn’t have time to press the matter further, so for now, it was left at that.”
Su Sheng had been in the palace for many years and was as sharp as they came.
Between Huo Ci and Yun Chunfeng, neither was easy to deal with.
This affair was far from over!
For a moment, the only sound in the entire Qianqing Hall was the clinking of the red coral and gold beads that Xiao Ao was spinning in his hand.
Ever since Xiao Ao had seen the shadow guards of Shangguan Hanshan, a feeling of envy had been growing in his heart.
If he could also gather a team of such devoted warriors, why worry about not unifying the realm?
Originally, Yun Chunfeng, with his immortal bearing, had been a pawn to counterbalance Huo Ci.
But the man was far too free-spirited and simply couldn’t obey orders without question.
He did everything according to his whims, threatening to return to his immortal mountain at every turn—completely unreliable.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Xiao Ao.
Yun Chunfeng’s appearance meant that cultivators truly existed in this world.
Just as there were those like him who viewed wealth as mere passing clouds, there would certainly be those who were greedy for money.
As long as he prepared enough wealth, he could surely attract capable and extraordinary individuals to serve him.
Then, he would first destroy Beiluo, then pacify Daxia, and unify the entire Beilu Continent—wouldn’t that be splendid?
The more Xiao Ao thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
All Su Sheng could hear was the spinning beads clicking faster and faster, more and more urgently.
Then, abruptly, the sound stopped, and Xiao Ao’s voice followed closely after.
“Select some rare treasures and send them to the Imperial Preceptor’s Xianyun Palace, as an apology for Huo Ci’s insolent words and for allowing his servants to harm others.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Oh, right—what became of Yun Chunfeng’s servants?”
Su Sheng let out a quiet sigh of relief.
First, because His Majesty’s tone had softened, and second, because “Jiang Xingyan” had appeared at just the right time.
“Oh, Your Majesty, please don’t take offense—not that your servant means to boast, but that former Lady Huo Jiang is truly reasonable and knows what’s right and proper.
The general’s mansion has at least a hundred people from top to bottom, and the Imperial Preceptor’s Xianyun Palace simply doesn’t have the space to house them all.
The Imperial Preceptor even said he would pay out of his own pocket to ensure everyone had a place to live and clothes to wear.
He only asked that they come to General Huo’s gate every day, so that everyone could see just how brutal General Huo really is behind his glamorous exterior.”
“Nonsense!”
Xiao Ao slammed the beads down on the nearby carved golden-nanmu side table.
Su Sheng hurried to soothe Xiao Ao: “That’s exactly what I thought!
How could a family’s dirty laundry be aired for all to see?
The Imperial Preceptor has cultivated for so long that he’s forgotten the ways of the mortal world—it’s only natural.
Your Majesty is magnanimous—surely you wouldn’t let this affect your health?”
Xiao Ao steadied himself and nodded for Su Sheng to continue.
“At that critical moment, Lady Jiang’s carriage happened to pass by, and she took in all those servants.”
Xiao Ao raised an eyebrow: “Took them where?”
“She seems to have bought a property on the outskirts of the capital and was looking to purchase some familiar servants, when she happened upon this scene.
The Imperial Preceptor gave all the indenture contracts to Lady Jiang without taking a single coin—he only asked that she treat those common folk well.”
Xiao Ao pondered for a long moment: “And her relationship with Huo Ci?”
“From your servant’s observation, the two can barely stand the sight of each other. A broken mirror will likely be very hard to mend.”
Xiao Ao fell into deep thought.
Was Huo Ci merely putting on a show of marital devotion to get Lady Jiang’s money, even going so far as to mistreat his own mother to gain her trust?
Or did he have some other, more sinister purpose?
Even Xiao Ao himself couldn’t see through it clearly.
He slowly closed his eyes.
For now, he still needed Huo Ci for military campaigns—this was not the time to pursue the matter.
As long as the people Huo Ci cared about remained under his control, that was enough.
He was genuinely afraid that Huo Ci might secretly take Lady Jiang and their daughter, abandon his old mother, and lead a hundred thousand troops to defect to the enemy.
After all, the terms offered by that Princess Huaiwan were quite tempting.
His doubts now fully dispelled, a sharp glint flashed through Xiao Ao’s eyes.
One day, he would firmly grasp the military power in his own hands.
By then, no matter what little schemes Huo Ci tried to pull, it would no longer be possible.
“Baozhu! Yuzhu!”
Old Madam Huo suddenly jolted awake from a nightmare.
She had barely managed to escape the terror from a few hours earlier and had just drifted off into a restless sleep.
Now she heard the watchman’s third drumbeat just outside—she hadn’t even slept for half a shichen.
Just before today, Baozhu and Yuzhu had been standing before her, alive and well, helping her dress and wash, doing the heavy chores, and protecting her from Yin Zhu’s mistreatment.
How could they have turned into two charred corpses in the blink of an eye?
Boom!
A summer night’s rain always came without warning.
A flash of lightning illuminated the window for a brief moment.
“Ah!”
Old Madam Huo shrieked in terror and burrowed under her brocade quilt.
“It wasn’t me, I didn’t do it!
It was Baozhu and Yuzhu who did it—didn’t you already strike them dead?
Please, spare me!”
Creak.
The door slowly opened, revealing a hunched figure standing at the threshold.
Old Madam Huo timidly glanced out and let out a piercing scream.
The image of Baozhu and Yuzhu’s charred corpses instantly sharpened in her mind.
“Yuzhu, Baozhu—you were my most trusted maids! All these years, I’ve treated you well!”
The figure limped into the main room, shuffling step by step toward the bedside.
Amid Old Madam Huo’s incessant muttering and pleading, the figure suddenly yanked away the brocade quilt she had clutched over her head.
“Back then, when you told my older sister to drown Little Ya, you said the very same thing—that she was your most trusted personal maid.”
