The Blood Crown - Chapter 280

The next morning, as Yan Sikong got up and saw the beautiful spring morning outside, he thought about stretching his muscles. However, before he could finish his set of punches, Feng Ye’s personal guard rushed in and said that the Wolf King had urgent matters and needed him immediately.

Thinking back to yesterday, which had also started with “urgent matters” and had ended with an interrogation, Yan Sikong had no intention of paying attention. But the guard’s next words made his heart tighten: “Prince Chu has sent an envoy to the palace again.”

What if it’s Yuan Nanyu…

Yan Sikong dared not delay and hurried to follow the guard.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Feng Ye pacing anxiously inside.

“Is it news about Que Wang?!” Yan Sikong asked urgently.

Feng Ye turned around and said in a low voice, “His identity has been discovered by Chen Mu.”

Yan Sikong’s vision blurred, and the blood drained from his face.

Since he left Pingliang, forty-four days had passed. For Yuan Nanyu to remain hidden under Chen Mu’s watch for that long was far beyond his expectations. But now, it had been exposed.

“What… what does he want?” Yan Sikong asked, his voice trembling.

Feng Ye’s gaze turned cold. “Chen Mu demands that I withdraw from the Forbidden City within three days, or…”

“Or what?!”

“Or he will send Que Wang…” Feng Ye said maliciously, “Piece by piece, back to me.”

Yan Sikong gasped, his extreme panic replaced by an extraordinary calm. “Wolf King, it’s time.”

“Listen carefully, I won’t exchange you for him,” Feng Ye narrowed his eyes and said coldly. “If I truly exchanged you to get Que Wang back, he would be deeply ashamed, and Chen Mu would definitely harm you. Que Wang wouldn’t agree either.”

“At least Chen Mu won’t kill me.”

“He won’t kill you, but he has many ways to torture you,” Feng Ye gritted his teeth. “Have you already forgotten the pain after healing?”

Yan Sikong spoke fiercely. “I will do anything to save him. You can’t stop me!”

“Do you think you can save him by giving up everything?!” Feng Ye shouted.

Yan Sikong took a deep breath. “Then what is the Wolf King’s plan?”

“I will delay the new emperor’s enthronement and have the cabinet temporarily manage the state affairs to buy time, while sending his maternal grandfather to negotiate. If that still doesn’t work,” Feng Ye said firmly, “I will send troops to raid the camp and use death warriors to find a way to rescue him.”

Yan Sikong hesitated for a moment. “…Alright.”

Feng Ye looked at Yan Sikong. “You are under my watch. Don’t even think about acting on your own. I won’t let you leave, especially not to seek out Chen Mu.”

Yan Sikong turned his face away. “I want to personally interrogate Xie Zhongren.”

Once they entered the capital, Xie Zhongren had been tightly guarded to prevent him from committing suicide. The original plan was to deal with the eunuchs and the rebellious officials after the Thirteenth Prince ascended the throne. Now, to avoid angering Chen Mu, they had to maintain the status quo, so there was no need for Xie Zhongren to live any longer.

As long as Xie Zhongren was dead, there would be no reason for him to stay here.

“Alright.” Hatred flashed in Feng Ye’s eyes. “I don’t want to wait any longer either.”

—

Yan Sikong changed into the Da Sheng court robes he hadn’t worn in years. The robes were a blend of dark blue and reddish-brown, with a jade belt at his waist and a black cap on his head. He looked at himself in the bronze mirror, and for a moment, he saw the young Hanlin scholar and newly passed Jinshi who had stunned the court ten years ago.

Ten years had passed, and every line of wear on his face told the story of everything he had gone through during those years.

He brushed his wide sleeves and stepped out the door. His face no longer wore the mask it once did, and it was only in that moment that Yan Sikong felt he had truly returned to the capital. Thinking of how those people would react when they saw him—first with shock, then with sharp, glaring eyes—his lips unconsciously curled into a cold smile.

Feng Ye pressured Emperor Zhaowu to issue an edict appointing him as the Grand Tutor, one of the Three Dukes, so that he could move freely in the capital. At the very least, to interrogate Xie Zhongren, he needed a title that would make his actions presentable.

As he remembered, he was the youngest of the Three Dukes in Da Sheng history. During the Qin and Han dynasties, the position of the Three Dukes was second only to the Chancellor. However, during the Sheng dynasty, even the actual system of chancellors had been abolished. The Three Dukes were above the ministers and ranked as the highest of the first-class officials. They were often titles given as honors to royal relatives or imperial teachers, with no real power.

Of course, for Yan Sikong now, titles and power were irrelevant. What mattered was clearing Yuan Mao’s name, executing Xie Zhongren, and then finding a way to rescue Yuan Nanyu.

As he left the inn and rode through the city, he knew that the secret about his and Yuan Nanyu’s identities was now known throughout the capital.

Upon arriving at the interrogation prison, one of the officials waiting for him was a familiar face, someone who had once been a minor official in the Ministry of Justice but had clearly been promoted. The two had worked together on official business in the past.

When Yan Sikong appeared before everyone, their meaningful gazes seemed to strip him bare, hoping to peel back his skin and see what was beneath. The name “Yan Sikong” had become a legendary one—infamous, after all. He had stirred up storms in the court, between the Wolf King and Prince Chu. His presence was behind almost every major event, and as Feng Ye had said, he was indispensable in the current situation.

“Your Excellency, we welcome Grand Tutor Yan,” the officials said in unison.

Yan Sikong’s expression was cold, and he showed no sign of kindness. He knew that these people both despised and envied him, and were likely whispering malicious thoughts about him. He couldn’t be bothered to socialize; he never engaged in meaningless things. He said straightforwardly, “Take me to see that eunuch dog.”

“Please, Grand Tutor, this way.”

Yan Sikong stepped into the prison, thinking that at the end of this dark corridor was the sworn enemy who had taken everything from him. However, he no longer felt the same emotional turbulence as before.

Perhaps it was because, after the downfall of the eunuch faction, Xie Zhongren could no longer rise again. His plans for revenge had already been fulfilled, and now, he was merely here to complete something that should have been done long ago.

At the most secret part of the interrogation prison, there was a solitary cell, where important prisoners were kept under constant guard.

An old man with gray hair, his form shriveled and frail, huddled in the corner of the cell, trembling. He was once the powerful Chief Eunuch of the Ministry of Rites, Xie Zhongren. He had once controlled the court, had followers everywhere, and had the power to cover the sky with one hand. He had amassed wealth rivaling entire nations, and his crimes were countless, beyond measure, beyond reckoning.

Heaven’s justice was clear, and retribution had struck. Now, he was nothing more than a dying prisoner nearing his seventies.

Yan Sikong coldly glanced at Xie Zhongren and sat down in the grand tutor’s chair. “Bring the prisoner here.”

The jailer opened the cell door and dragged Xie Zhongren out, throwing him in front of Yan Sikong. His limbs were shackled, and his mouth was gagged to prevent him from committing suicide.

Yan Sikong waved his hand, and the jailer removed his restraints.

Xie Zhongren shakily lifted his head, his messy hair covering his withered face. His eyes were clouded and white, looking more like a ghost than a man.

Yan Sikong looked down at Xie Zhongren from above. “Xie Zhongren, do you remember me?”

Xie Zhongren opened his mouth, letting out a strange, harsh laugh. “Yan… Sikong, Yan Sikong.” His half-blind eyes could not hide the venomous hatred.

“I should thank you for surviving this long. If you had died old and sick, it would have been too easy for you.”

Xie Zhongren trembled and said, “Yan… thief, you treasonous and deceitful… traitor, a scourge to the country, you… in your lust for power, you actually became a man’s plaything. Shameless! You were ridden by a man, hahaha! You’re no eunuch, but you’re worse than one, hahaha! What’s the difference between you and me?”

“I won, and you’re going to die,” Yan Sikong said with a cruel smile. “Comparing me to you is enough. You don’t deserve more.”

Xie Zhongren laughed halfway before coughing violently, still trembling as he said, “Shameless, shameless, I spit on you!”

Yan Sikong’s expression didn’t change, and he was unmoved. “Xie Zhongren, the three judicial departments have already cleared all your crimes. I’ll deal with what hasn’t been investigated yet. Over twenty years ago, you framed the capable former governor of Liaodong, replacing him with your own trusted henchman, Han Zhaoxing, that beast who destroyed seven northern provinces. Such a heinous crime, yet he still sits securely in Liaodong.” Yan Sikong’s chest rose and fell more intensely as he spoke. “Finally, when the Jin forces attacked, it was my adoptive father Yuan Mao and the people of Guangning who risked their lives to protect the northern borders of Da Sheng, but Han Zhaoxing conspired with you to unjustly execute him!”

Under the heartbreaking accusations, Xie Zhongren trembled on the floor.

“When my father was beheaded, I watched from the execution platform,” Yan Sikong stared at Xie Zhongren, his eyes bloodshot with fury. “At that moment, I swore that I, Yan Sikong, would stop at nothing for revenge. I will skin you alive, eradicate your entire family, crush your bones, and leave you with no chance of rebirth!”

Xie Zhongren shook violently, and under Yan Sikong’s vicious gaze, he unconsciously recoiled.

“You’ve committed so many sins, you probably can’t even remember them all. It doesn’t matter, I’ll help you remember.”

Yan Sikong shouted, “Bring the ink and brush.” He stared at Xie Zhongren without blinking, as if he were looking at the most repulsive thing in the world. “I’ll add the wrongful execution of Yuan Mao, the guardian of Guangning, from twenty years ago, to your list of crimes. Xie Zhongren, do you plead guilty?”

Xie Zhongren, in a daze, shook his head and suddenly burst into wild laughter. “Yan thief, you deserve it. You’re as venomous as a snake, and this is your… retribution. Hahaha! Your family is ruined, you won’t die well, hahaha—”

Yan Sikong watched as Xie Zhongren descended into madness and disarray. He picked up the brush and solemnly wrote down the charges, clearing Yuan Mao’s name.

Father, do you see? After twenty years of unjust suffering, your name will finally be cleared. The enemy who caused your death is about to receive the harshest punishment. As for Han Zhaoxing, who became a dog of the Jin people, as long as I still breathe, I will never let him go. I will tear him to pieces with my own hands.