Huo Qixiao had meticulously laid out this grand chess game, and the direction and ultimate outcome of the game were indeed close to his expectations.
From the moment the King of Togetherness's manor was placed under surveillance, Leng Muran, confined within its walls, lost all contact with the outside world and was unaware that Huo Qiyuan had met with an accident.
In fact, as the former head of a prominent sect and aristocratic family in the martial world, Leng Muran was capable of breaking out. The reason she had consistently adhered to the rules was her firm belief that Huo Si would never rebel.
Given this, he would certainly not sit idly by. Even for the sake of himself and his son, and for the lives of the hundred innocent souls in the manor, the Prince would surely find a way to prove his innocence.
It was with this thought in mind, and also to avoid causing trouble for the Prince, that Leng Muran had refrained from any rash actions during her days of house arrest.
However, as days turned into weeks, Leng Muran's anxiety and torment did not lessen in the slightest. On the contrary, she had felt profoundly uneasy for several days.
It was not until today, when she suddenly heard news that Huo Sizhun was gravely ill, that Leng Muran could no longer sit still. If they did not resist now and continued to wait for death, the evidence of the King of Togetherness's manor plotting rebellion would likely be cemented.
Just as Leng Muran resolved to break out, she overheard people whispering in the corridor.
"Alas! I never thought the King of Togetherness's manor would come to this situation."
"Indeed! Who could have imagined? The only son died on the battlefield, and the old Prince suddenly fell ill in prison. Now, the people of the capital are all saying this is retribution for the King of Togetherness's manor plotting rebellion and treason! I never expected that a collateral royal manor, which had stood so magnificently for decades, would collapse after today."
Leng Muran, inside the room, was stunned. When she came to her senses, she abruptly yanked open the door, intending to get to the bottom of it. However, by the time she chased out, there wasn't a single person in sight outside.
What did they mean? The only son died on the battlefield? The old Prince fell ill suddenly, and the people of the capital all believed that the King of Togetherness's manor had truly plotted rebellion and treason?
The only son... they were talking about Yuan'er. Could Yuan'er have met with an accident on the frontier? Leng Muran couldn't believe it, and her heart was in turmoil. She had been enduring, not wanting to be too impulsive or emotional, hoping that His Majesty would grant justice to the manor.
How did things turn out like this?
The manor had been surrounded for so many days. Apart from the initial search by palace guards who found the so-called evidence, there had been no further investigation.
The Emperor kept people imprisoned in the celestial prison, claiming to thoroughly investigate the matter. Yet, at the same time, the court allowed the common people to openly discuss the incident.
They intended to use this to destroy the King of Togetherness's manor's image in the eyes of the populace, and to use the voices of the common people to solidify the accusation of rebellion against the manor.
If the Emperor truly intended to uncover the truth of the rebellion for the manor, why would he not issue a decree to restrain public discourse and allow such unfavorable rumors about the Prince to spread widely?
It was known that in the Great Yu Dynasty, if an official was involved in a case, the court would explicitly forbid the common people of the capital from discussing it casually until the matter was thoroughly investigated.
However, after the incident with the King of Togetherness's manor, the Emperor had not prohibited the common people from discussing it at all. Or rather, the Emperor had never intended to grant the manor a clean slate!
Thinking of this, Leng Muran was furious. She had remained inactive, fearing that any rashness on her part would backfire, displease the Emperor, and bring disaster upon the manor.
But now it seemed that things were not as she had thought. It was highly possible that the one who truly wished for the manor's complete downfall was the Emperor himself!
No longer hesitant, Leng Muran immediately summoned the trusted individuals in the manor to discuss how to break out and how to storm the celestial prison to rescue the captives. They said the Prince had fallen ill, but whether he was alive or dead, she had to see him one last time before she could be at peace.
With this thought, Leng Muran, along with the most skilled guards from the manor and with the cooperation of some of her former contacts from the martial world, fought their way to the celestial prison.
The guards surrounding the celestial prison had already been arranged by Huo Qixiao, so the King of Togetherness's manor contingent did not encounter much difficulty; in fact, they easily broke in. However, Leng Muran, eager to save her husband, did not notice this strangeness.
They stormed into the celestial prison and headed straight for the solitary cells where royal prisoners were held. Upon seeing Huo Sizhun lying in the cell, Leng Muran's heart shattered at that moment.
In less than ten days, the once invincible general who commanded the battlefield had become this frail, immobile, and speechless figure. His eyes were askew, his face only capable of moving his eyeballs around, and saliva continuously dripped from the corner of his mouth. He was utterly disheveled!
"My Lord!"
Seeing him like this, Leng Muran let out a heart-wrenching cry, her eyes immediately brimming with tears. Her actions became somewhat frantic as she drew her sword and slashed at the approaching jailers, venting her inner resentment.
Huo Sizhun, seeing his beloved wife and his subordinates fighting their way in, immediately knew that the manor's affairs had not been cleared up and that the Emperor had not allowed them to visit him. Therefore, things had already moved towards the direction he most wished to avoid.
Emperor! Must you treat a loyal subject this way? And Yuan'er, had his Yuan'er truly met with misfortune? A drop of turbid tear trickled from Huo Sizhun's eye.
He looked reluctantly at Leng Muran, who was fighting, wishing he could help and protect her, but he was now a cripple and could not even move.
As more and more jailers hacked their way towards Leng Muran, the people from the King of Togetherness's manor, who had broken in, were all injured to varying degrees. Especially Leng Muran, who had lived a life of comfort for many years, sustained several sword wounds. Lying in the cell, Huo Sizhun could only anxiously watch the predicament before him.
The enemy's numbers continued to grow, and Leng Muran and her group were beginning to falter. At this moment, another troop of soldiers was rushing towards the celestial prison. Leading them was none other than Emperor Rui, who was bringing imperial physicians to visit Huo Sizhun.
The King of Togetherness's manor people were being beaten back, and they were on the verge of being driven out of the celestial prison. It was at this very moment that Emperor Rui and his party entered. Seeing people fighting in the celestial prison, they intended to protect the Emperor who was at the forefront.
However, Leng Muran's sharp eyes spotted the Emperor walking at the front, and her eyes immediately blazed with intense hatred.
It was all because of him! If the Emperor had not been so incompetent, listening to the slander of villains and causing the Prince to be unable to move or speak, how could the manor have fallen to this state!
Leng Muran reacted quickly and leaped forward, thrusting her sword towards Emperor Rui. Her original intention was merely to hold Emperor Rui hostage and use him to negotiate for Huo Sizhun's release; she did not wish to take his life.
Therefore, as the sword energy grazed Emperor Rui's neck, Leng Muran rotated her arm, deflecting the sword slightly. In the end, the sword in her hand merely rested diagonally on the Emperor's shoulder.
Emperor Rui, seeing Leng Muran's action, immediately guessed that she did not truly intend to kill him. Suddenly! His eyes widened, and he hurriedly shouted into the void.
"Hold!"
But Emperor Rui's order was ultimately a step too late. For at the very moment he spoke, four long swords flew out rapidly from his diagonal rear and stabbed directly at Leng Muran, who stood before him. The entire celestial prison fell silent at that moment.
"Shishishishi!" The sound of blades piercing flesh rang out, and all eyes turned towards them.
Four Dragon Shadow Guards leaped into the air, their agile bodies catching the dripping long swords, and then they vanished back into obscurity. If it weren't for the bloodstains dripping from the swords midway, these people would have seemed as if they had never appeared.
Emperor Rui's eyes widened as he watched the person before him slowly collapse. Leng Muran's clothes were stained red with blood. As she fell, she twisted her body, her face turned towards Huo Sizhun.
"My Lord, your concubine, your concubine will go ahead..."
Leng Muran cast one last glance at Huo Sizhun, murmured her farewell, and after a few weak twitches, she breathed her last. The several large holes pierced through her body were still bleeding profusely.
Emperor Rui looked at Leng Muran lying on the ground, wanting to call for imperial physicians to treat them, but he was somewhat stunned and couldn't utter a sound for a moment.
The skin on his neck had been cut by the sword energy, and blood seeped from the wound. Emperor Rui raised his hand to touch the burning injury, looking at the bloodstains on his hand. He knew that Leng Muran had not intended to kill him.
If she had truly wanted to kill him, Leng Muran would not have rotated her arm to dodge just now. Therefore, her attack on him was likely just to use him to exchange for the King of Togetherness.
"No!"
As the celestial prison fell into a profound silence, Huo Sizhun's heart-wrenching cry echoed. He mustered all his strength to circulate his internal energy, finally managing to break through the meridians blocked by the surge of blood.
Little did he know that as he struggled to stand, he would witness this fatal scene. His beloved wife, his Princess Consort, had been pierced through the chest by a sword and had fallen, never to rise again.
"Pfft~"
His son was poisoned on the battlefield and his life was uncertain. Now, he had personally witnessed his beloved wife being stabbed to death. Huo Sizhun could no longer bear it and vomited a mouthful of blood, rolling off the prison cot.
"Princess Consort..."
"My Lord~"
The people of the King of Togetherness's manor watched the sudden unfolding of events with their eyes splitting with rage. Some rushed towards Leng Muran, while others rushed towards Huo Sizhun, attempting to carry the bodies of the two and fight their way out.
Seeing the chaotic scene before him, Emperor Rui finally jolted back from his contemplation. "Quickly stop them! Do not let them take the bodies of the King of Togetherness and his Princess Consort!"
With the clash of blades and after another fierce struggle, only three people from the King of Togetherness's manor managed to escape. The rest, along with Leng Muran, all died in the celestial prison, at the hands of Emperor Rui.
Ultimately, Huo Sizhun did not live to see his son return to the capital to report for duty, nor did he live to retire from his military service and travel the mountains and waters with his beloved wife. Even after the manor was destroyed, Huo Qiyuan was unable to see his parents one last time.
When everything finally settled down, Emperor Rui walked with difficulty to Huo Sizhun's body. Seeing his eyes bloodshot and bulging, the veins on his forehead protruding in a dark purple hue, and black blood flowing from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, his gaze was fixed on Leng Muran in the distance, unable to close his eyes until the very end.
Although Emperor Rui feared Huo Sizhun and the influence of the King of Togetherness's manor, he had not truly intended to kill Leng Muran just now, nor had he ever intended to kill Huo Sizhun. Otherwise, he would not have brought imperial physicians to the celestial prison.
However, fate is unpredictable. He did not wish to kill them, yet they all ended up dead. It seemed to be the will of heaven; even heaven wanted the King of Togetherness's manor to fall!
Emperor Rui ordered Huo Sizhun's body to be lifted and placed properly. He sat there for a very long time. Only when his legs were numb did he slowly stand up.
"Someone..."
"Your servant is here..."
Emperor Rui closed his eyes heavily, and when he reopened them, his gaze had changed. "Issue an imperial decree! No one is to discuss today's events. If I hear even a whisper of it, I will have them torn apart by five horses and their entire clans exterminated!"
"Your servants dare not reveal a single word!" All the jailers and guards in the celestial prison knelt and pledged their loyalty. Emperor Rui ordered people to collect the bodies of Huo Sizhun and Leng Muran and ensure they were properly attended to.
Since Huo Qiyuan's body had not yet been found, and not all the people in the capital believed the King of Togetherness had rebelled, it was not yet a good time to announce the deaths of Huo Sizhun and Leng Muran to the world.
More than twenty days passed. During this time, more and more evidence of the King of Togetherness's manor plotting rebellion was unearthed in the vicinity of the capital, and the common people became convinced of Huo Sizhun's treason.
And at this very moment, news came from the frontier that the Great Yu Dynasty had suffered a defeat and was to cede land and pay reparations. Upon hearing this news, the hatred of the common people towards the King of Togetherness's manor deepened.
They hated Huo Sizhun, hated Huo Qiyuan, hated everyone in the King of Togetherness's manor. They hated that they, who were supposed to be the protectors of the Great Yu Dynasty, had ultimately become traitors who betrayed the country.
Their sins were not only for causing the deaths of so many innocent people, but more importantly, because they had personally destroyed the faith in the hearts of the common people, destroying their belief in continuing to live peacefully.
The Imperial Palace.
Emperor Rui sat by his writing desk, his expression weary as he perused the memorials submitted by various prefectures. They described the recent drought in several prefectures, with varying degrees of severity.
In fact, the drought had appeared as early as before the new year, but it had not been as severe then, so it had not attracted the attention of the court.
Now, in the letters submitted from various regions, it was written that in some places, not only had there been no harvest, but the basic needs of the people could not be met, and there had even been instances of people starving to death. Seeing that the situation had become so serious, Emperor Rui had no choice but to take it seriously.