With Emperor Wu successfully restored to the throne, Liudao Hall temporarily assumed the duties of the Imperial Guard in garrisoning the imperial city. Prince Danyang was confined to his residence, awaiting a final verdict once all investigations were concluded.
After experiencing the ordeal, Zhang Song once again leveraged his advanced age to bluntly request leave and return to his estate.
On the way, an attendant asked, "My Lord, it was Prince Danyang who deliberately intervened, which caused us to lose contact with the Empress. Why are we..."
"Hmph, what do you know? What is there to discuss with the Empress now? Can giving birth to a princess make her the heir? What matters now is that I am the great meritorious minister who assisted the Emperor in returning to his throne." Having said this, he stroked his chin, his face showing a hint of smugness.
He had once hoped that Emperor Wu would die in An Kingdom, but now that there was no hope for a young monarch to ascend the throne, he decided it was better to count on this great achievement to allow him to continue enjoying power and wealth.
...
The first imperial decree issued by Emperor Wu after his return announced a general amnesty for the realm, a halving of taxes, the release of a large number of palace maids, and a reduction in spending throughout the palace to console the people's livelihood and allow the populace to recover and catch their breath from the ravages of war.
On another front, he promptly summoned Ning Yuanzhou to handle the matter of Prince Danyang.
"It has been verified that the commander of the Imperial Guard, Wu Yong, is a maternal relative of Prince Danyang. He orchestrated and contacted Zhou Jian and others multiple times to carry out the interception and assassination of the diplomatic mission."
Emperor Wu sighed softly.
He issued an edict: Prince Danyang, having acted improperly and defied the imperial will, was stripped of his title and exiled to northern Ji. He was forbidden from returning to Wu Capital without an imperial decree.
In the end, Emperor Wu still harbored affection for his sibling and did not push him to the point of extinction. Perhaps there was another motive: if Yang Xingyuan were to die without an heir one day, Prince Danyang would still be the most suitable candidate for the new monarch.
Many of the wrongdoings committed by Prince Danyang had been instigated by his uncle. Exiling Prince Danyang to northern Ji and severing his ties with his maternal family might also...
"Lord Ning, is there any news from An Kingdom... A-ying, is A-ying still safe?"
Seeing Emperor Wu personally ask after the safety of his younger sister, Ning Yuanzhou felt a modicum of relief. Since the reactivation of the Senluo Palace of Liudao Hall, newly collected secret intelligence from An Kingdom had just reached Ning Yuanzhou's hands.
...
At this moment, A-ying was sitting at a banquet in An Kingdom, feeling utterly at a loss.
Since his great victory over Wu Kingdom, the Emperor of An had become increasingly cruel and despotic. He had acquired a hobby: he loved to watch fighting sports.
The Emperor of An did not care for conventional, restrained bouts; he only took pleasure in those where fists met flesh and blades drew blood.
Because the soldiers in the military camps would often end up bloodied and battered from such fights—which risked damaging morale and affecting unit cohesion—the subordinates devised a method: they stopped letting the soldiers practice these combat arts and instead forced war captives to do so.
Whenever there was a military banquet, they would summon people from the combat camp.
Today’s banquet was hosted by the Emperor of An, who had gathered some of the court’s military generals for a feast in the camp.
Ever since Yang Ying revealed her true identity in front of the Emperor of An, she no longer wore male attire. Within the An court, most knew she was a princess and not a prince, but as long as the Emperor of An remained silent, no one else had the courage to point it out.
Whenever Yang Ying attended public banquets, even though she wore female clothing, the courtiers still addressed her as "Prince Li," and Yang Ying continued to refer to herself as "Gu" (the royal "I").
Although the scene appeared quite strange, Yang Ying’s behavior since entering An Kingdom had indeed been worthy of the status of the "Prince Li of Dawu."
The Emperor of An did not stay long before being called away by Deng Hui to discuss state affairs. At this moment, the men from the combat camp had just taken their positions and had not yet begun their "performance," leaving the Emperor of An looking quite disgruntled.
After he left, the person remaining in the seat of honor was the Second Prince, currently the most likely heir to the An throne.
Seeing that the Emperor of An had left, Yang Ying took advantage of the lack of attention to turn and ask the maid standing behind her.
"The Emperor of An is gone. Can we leave now? I don’t want to stay here." Yang Ying’s expression was strained as she looked expectantly for a response from the person behind her.
Standing behind her was none other than Ren Ruyi in disguise.
Taking the opportunity to pour wine for Yang Ying, Ren Ruyi leaned into her ear and whispered, "We cannot."
Ren Ruyi naturally knew what Yang Ying feared; violent and bloody scenes were never something she enjoyed, and Ren Ruyi herself did not care for them either.
Two men stepped onto the field. Both were lean and tall with cold, stern expressions. They were clearly men who had been through the slaughter of the battlefield, yet their cheeks were visibly sunken, and their eyes were shadowed with profound exhaustion. Their ankles bore deep friction scars, many festering with filth and weeping pus.
"They are all captives. They wear shackles in their daily lives and do heavy labor. In the combat camp, they must fight to the death. If they lose, they are beaten or starved, and worse yet, death is the only outcome," Ruyi whispered into Yang Ying’s ear.
As the adjutant at the side held up a flag and signaled with a shout, the two men rushed toward each other with roars.
Within moments, both collapsed to the ground, their fists slamming into each other’s faces without mercy. In an instant, blood and sweat flew through the air.
The surrounding military officers and generals all clapped and cheered, their blood boiling. When the fighting reached a fever pitch, officers would even stand up from their seats, gesturing and offering advice to the two men in the center.
Sometimes there were small games; when the two reached a deadlock, someone would take the lead in betting, with everyone tossing out gold and silver to place their stakes...
Sitting at the table, Yang Ying and Ren Ruyi felt like they were on pins and needles. This Great An now, from top to bottom, worshiped military might.
Those in power, from the Emperor of An down to the low-ranking officers and generals, were all the same. They were bellicose, power-hungry, bloodthirsty, and treated human life like blades of grass...
If the An Kingdom were allowed to continue developing as the Emperor of An wished, what would become of the common people of the world?
These thoughts were etched deeply into Yang Ying’s heart along with the splattering of blood on the field.
As for Ren Ruyi, she lifted her eyes to look at the Second Prince sitting in the seat of honor.
He, too, watched the "performance" with a face full of joy and excitement. In the end, finding that their empty-handed struggle was not stimulating enough, he actually drew a sword from the scabbard of his guard and tossed it onto the field.
The two men, who were already fighting intensely, became even more crazed upon seeing the sword on the ground. They even clawed at each other’s hair and bit down on each other’s arms with their teeth, as if desperate to tear off a piece of flesh.
As Ren Ruyi watched, she felt a sadness she could not describe. This was the biological son Empress Zhao Jie had held so dear; this was the future of Great An. He was, in the end, step by step, turning into the very kind of person Ren Ruyi loathed most, following the example of the Emperor of An.
With a roar, the arm of the man being pinned down was twisted out of its socket. Exhausted, he finally collapsed, and the other man rolled over to pick up the sword from the ground.
The cheers around them rose once again.
"Kill him! Kill him! Kill!"
Everyone was waiting—waiting for him to kill his defeated opponent and push this performance to its climax.
He stood up slowly, gripping the hilt of the sword with both hands, his body trembling slightly.
Everyone was expectant, but only Ren Ruyi, from her vantage point, could see his eyes silently glancing toward the side.
Following his gaze, there it was—the Second Prince.