Chapter 170 What Xie Yan Said Himself

Chapter 170 What Xie Yan Said Himself

Xie Yan listened to Xue Yubai's question while gazing at the palace in front of him.

In the darkness, guards were distributing torches to light the way forward.

"What do you think would be the best course of action?"

Xie Yan's question made Xue Yubai slightly taken aback.

Xie Yan was busy all day long, surrounded by people. Xue Yubai had already received several urgings from Xue Qingning.

He only asked the question now that it was just the two of them, but he didn't expect that the other person would throw the question back at him.

After a slight hesitation, Xue Yubai stated his opinion, "In my opinion, Grand Commandant Shen should not be allowed to remain!"

"How do you know?" Xie Yan asked in a flat tone, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Xue Yubai's tone was slightly heavy: "Whether it's his hiding of troops or his embezzlement, these are major taboos for officials, serious crimes punishable by the extermination of nine generations of their families."

"If we let them off lightly out of consideration for Princess Jing, other officials might follow suit."

"You are the new emperor, and this will be detrimental to your governance and the rectification of officialdom."

“They will use the case of Grand Commandant Shen as a precedent to exonerate themselves, and they will surely suffer the consequences.”

Xie Yan nodded, "That's absolutely right. Then he shall be imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison and executed in secret. After I ascend the throne, I will announce his crimes to the world."

"Yes, I'll take care of it right away." Xue Yubai immediately reported on another matter.

"The dragon robe for tomorrow's coronation is being made at full speed, and we need to go and take the measurements later."

"There is still a vacancy for the position of Grand Commandant Shen. Tomorrow, the Grand Commandant will read the imperial edict in front of the late emperor's coffin, and then kneel down to present you with the Imperial Seal and the sash."

"Who do you think is suitable for this position?"

Xie Yan said, "Imperial Censor Zhang's position will remain unchanged, and Prime Minister Li will not be affected for the time being. I have already considered the position of Grand Commandant."

"If it has to be given to the person I trust most, then it has to be you."

Xue Yubai: "Won't this cause dissatisfaction among other officials? After all, my previous position was too low, and I was just a figurehead. I didn't even have the right to attend the morning court session, so I really didn't have any credibility."

"Whoever dares to step forward, we'll make an example of them."

Xie Yan and Xue Yubai walked away, and not far under the stone bridge, Shen Nanzi stopped, her body going limp.

What did she just hear? Xie Yan was going to secretly execute her brother!

It was he who said it himself.

He heeded Xue Yubai's advice.

Xie Yan! Xie Yan! Just now, she still had a sliver of hope in her heart, thinking that he still had some feelings for her.

He said he would tell her everything in a few days.

She was still hoping that he had some hidden reason for doing this!

In retrospect, it was nothing more than a moment of lust that arose on his part, and those words were nothing more than lies to appease and imprison her.

Having long since lost all feelings for him, Shen Nanzi felt little disappointment, only a chill running through her body, as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

I'm frantic. How can I rescue my brother safely?

At this moment, the funeral bell tolled again, mournful and heavy, like a death knell, making Shen Nanzi feel agitated.

She forced herself to be resolute. Now she was her brother's hope. The Shen family could live without her, but they absolutely could not live without her brother.

Her brother was her pillar of support.

Her brother, her only brother.

Shen Nanzi's figure disappeared under the stone bridge.

The guard on the stone bridge realized what was happening and muttered to himself in confusion, "Isn't he a guard from the Hall of Harmony? Why did he go to the front hall?"

＊

The Chongde Hall was brightly lit, and many people were coming and going.

Shen Nanzi stood in the shadows, observing the people coming and going inside.

Until she saw her brother, dressed in prison clothes, being escorted out of Chongde Hall. On the high steps, her brother was disheveled and walked unsteadily.

Almost being carried down the steps, Shen Nanzi quietly watched her brother's figure, following him at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

After he was led out of the palace gate, Shen Nanzi took out the jade token for leaving the palace and handed it to the gatekeeper.

The guard glanced at it and said, "This is yesterday's token. You need today's token to leave."

Shen Nanzi frowned. "What do you mean, yesterday's pendant? Isn't this the jade pendant you use when going out?"

The guard, seeing that she was wearing the same guard uniform, spoke to her in a fairly polite tone.

"Brother, didn't you receive orders from above? These are critical times. The exit token is issued daily to prevent unidentified people from sneaking into the palace."

Shen Nanzi watched as the prison cart carrying her brother drove away outside the palace gates, her heart filled with anxiety.

"Brother, please let me out! I have urgent business."

The guard's eyes immediately sharpened. "Who exactly are you?"

When questioned by the guard, Shen Nanzi instantly regained her composure, "I am naturally under the command of Prince Jing!"

The guard glanced at her a few times, then waved his hand and said, "Since you are under the command of Prince Jing, you should understand the strict rules even more."

"To leave the palace, you must go to your superior to exchange for a pass for today."

Shen Nanzi felt a chill in her heart; this jade token for leaving the palace was obtained by Xie Yu.

Unexpectedly, Xie Yan's defenses were so tight that the jade tokens for entry and exit had to be changed daily.

Where can she get a pass to leave the palace?

Then someone else came out of the palace. Shen Nanzi looked at the jade pendant in the person's hand. It was square, with three sides being straight lines and only one side having a serrated edge.

The guard took it and combined it with the jade token in his hand, making the two items one.

Shen Nanzi cursed inwardly, Xie Yan really came prepared.

Such a complex process obviously cannot be completed in a day.

"Why aren't you leaving yet?" the guard asked her after releasing the people.

This place is not safe to stay for long; the guard's eyes were already filled with suspicion.

Shen Nanzi immediately complained angrily, "My superior must be too busy to notice, making me make a wasted trip."

After saying that, he quickly left.

Walking through the vast palace, Shen Nanzi was in a panic. Her brother had already been taken away by them, and time was of the essence.

She had to find a way to leave the palace as soon as possible.

How to get the pair of cards from before has become Shen Nanzi's current problem.

She watched the guards handing out torches in the distance, and a sudden idea struck her.

He stepped forward and said, "Brother, could you give me a torch?"

The torchbearer asked, "Which region's guard are you from? Why are you asking me for something?"

Shen Nanzi's voice was serious, "I am the guard on the stone bridge behind. The wind has blown out several of them, and my superiors ordered me to come and get one."

The guard looked her over for a moment, then handed her a handful, saying, "Remember to return them to me when you're done using them; there's a limit."

"Okay!" Shen Nanzi excitedly took it and quickly left.

"A grown man, yet his voice is so high-pitched," the guard who was lighting the torch muttered from behind.

Shen Nanzi decided to try another exit, as the guard from before had already become suspicious of her.

But that bastard Xie Yan closed several exits.

She looked at the wind direction; it was a northwest wind. After a long and arduous journey, she arrived at the small gate in the east corner, panting heavily.

After taking a closer look, I realized that hard work pays off.

The edges of the palace walls were covered with fallen leaves blown by the wind, forming a line almost connecting with the base of the walls, and there hadn't been time to clean them up yet.

Shen Nanzi waited calmly, watching one person after another leave the palace.

She observed the leader of the group as they approached.

He had a jade pendant hanging from his waist; judging by the teeth marks, it was his exit token.

Shen Nanzi calculated the time, threw the torch into the fallen leaves, and the flame, aided by the northwest wind, should soon burn extremely brightly and rise all the way up.

Then, under the cover of night, she calmly followed the splashed man.

The same clothes blended together.

Between the signs, Shen Nanzi quietly slipped behind the leader.

All I saw was the guard snapping the jade token together, and it was perfectly joined together.

"Okay, how many people?"

The leader said, "Ten."

Immediately, someone started counting heads, one person at a time, counting each one as they passed, "One, two, three..."

Shen Nanzi was the third. She had already stepped halfway out when she suddenly shouted, "Oh no! Fire!"

Everyone's attention was drawn to the firelight.

"Someone's attacking!"

Shen Nanzi added fuel to the fire. At this critical moment, her biggest worry was that another force would launch a sneak attack.

"Quickly put out the fire! This is the east corner. If the wind blows, it will burn down to the main hall in front."

"If the enemy takes advantage of this and invades, we're doomed!"

Shen Nanzi's words sent chills down everyone's spines. This was the area they were responsible for; if anything went wrong, they would lose their heads.

"Seal off the exits and put out the fire immediately!"

The chief bodyguard here immediately issued an order.

"Let's get out of here first!" the leader shouted. "We have an urgent mission to carry out."

"What's all the noise about? Leave one person here to count the heads, the rest of you come with me!" The head guard's voice was already incoherent.

Taking advantage of their confusion, Shen Nanzi quietly slipped into a dark corner.

They followed the shadowy side towards the Heavenly Prison.

She listened to the cries for help from behind her, the voices growing fainter and fainter, while her steps quickened!

The moonlight shone on the official road, and the journey to the imperial prison took about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Shen Nanzi ran for a while, then squatted in the shadows in the corner.

She could not take the official road, as it was deserted except for patrolling troops.

Xie Yan must have issued an order imposing a city-wide curfew.

Shen Nanzi was already feeling somewhat desperate. Given his meticulous thinking, there would probably be patrol teams at every intersection.

She has to pass through at least five intersections to get to the prison.

If we take the back path, we'll probably be walking until dawn.

"Who is it?" A sharp shout pierced the sky, like a knife hanging overhead.

Shen Nanzi slowly raised her head.

On the opposite city wall, a guard with a knife questioned her in that direction.

Shen Nanzi knew she had been discovered, because an army was approaching from not far away.

The leader rode a tall horse, wearing armor and a cloak.

The sound of horses' hooves mingled with the synchronized footsteps of soldiers.

Like a death knell, it struck Shen Nanzi's heart.

The light of the torches followed.

Shen Nanzi, who was crouching in the dark corner, had no choice but to slowly stand up. She raised her eyes and looked at the high and mighty general.

In the firelight, Shen Nanzi recognized those cold eyes at a glance.

"A biting wind!" she murmured softly, her voice so faint it would dissipate with a gust of wind.

A knife was instantly placed against her neck; the icy touch, the hard blade, and the aura of death were ever-present.

"How dare you address our General Lie by his given name!"

The person who rebuked him spoke with a voice as loud as thunder, as if the person on the high horse were a person of noble status, an unapproachable being.

Shen Nanzi was somewhat pleased. Lie Feng was doing better and better after leaving her, living a life of ease and comfort.

With Prince Jing in power, he seems unaffected, still patrolling the most central area outside the palace.

But will he let her go?

She called out to him intentionally, hoping that he would remember their past relationship as master and servant and let her go.

"Put down the knife!"

The sound of the biting wind was like the cool breeze of autumn, sending a chill down one's spine.

Shen Nanzi raised her eyes, a look of relief in them. She knew that Lie Feng would not betray her.

They had been together since they were six years old, inseparable day and night.

If he were by her side, she would definitely find a way to rescue her brother, given her current panic and anxiety.

"This person is suspicious. Take him to the dungeon and we will decide what to do after we verify his identity!"

The sound of the biting wind filled her ears, and Shen Nanzi stared at him in disbelief.

He must have recognized her; he was actually going to take her to the dungeon.

The Heavenly Prison was a place to imprison the powerful and wealthy, while the Earthly Prison was a place to imprison the common people.

One is in the east, the other in the west, separated by half of Luoyang. What is Lie Feng planning?

Her brother is waiting for her to rescue him.

And he was stopping her?

Shen Nanzi gave a bitter laugh; he had finally become someone she didn't recognize.

He ripped open the belt around his waist, revealing the magnificent robes beneath. He tore off his beard, removed the coarse cloth headscarf, and his black hair cascaded down his head.

Although his face was still dark, the sharp aura that suddenly emanated from him sent a chill down the spines of everyone present.

“With Princess Jing here, if you wish to forcibly detain me, you will have to take me to the Heavenly Prison.”

Princess Jing!

Everyone was taken aback.

Lie Feng gripped the reins tightly, dismounted, and said, "This is a secluded path in the palace, used by guards and palace servants. Why is Princess Jing here?"

"Lie Feng, where I am is none of your business to question me!" Shen Nanzi was anxious and didn't want to waste any more time with him.

Revealing one's identity was also a necessity due to the circumstances.

Lie Feng approached, maintaining the same posture as before, holding his long sword to his chest, scrutinizing her.

“If Prince Jing is in the palace, Princess Jing should either be at Prince Jing’s residence or in the palace. She shouldn’t be wearing a guard’s uniform outside the palace walls in the middle of the night.”

He's deliberately making things difficult for her!

Even if she hadn't washed her face, how could he not recognize her voice and figure?

He turned bad and became someone else's lackey.

The person he ultimately turned to was Xie Yan. To her, this ending was like a dagger she had personally forged, now piercing her heart, causing her unbearable pain.

After a long silence, Lie Feng frowned, as if he had lost patience.

He remounted his horse and gave the order in a cold voice.

"This person is suspicious. Take him to the dungeon and we will decide his fate later."

Immediately, someone pressed down on Shen Nanzi's arm.

Shen Nanzi had considered the hardships of this journey, but she never imagined that the person who would stop her from saving her brother would be Lie Feng.

"Lie Feng, you beast! If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have saved you back at that dilapidated temple!"

Lie Feng looked at her coldly, "Go!"

"stop!"

A slow, leisurely voice suddenly appeared, causing everyone to stop in their tracks and look in the direction of the sound.

A man in white robes emerged from the narrow passage beside them, leading a white horse as he slowly walked up to the group.

He held up a jade plaque, about the size of his palm, with a large "靖" (Jing) character carved in the center.

"Prince Jing has ordered me to come and fetch Princess Jing back."