"Husband..." Xiao Qing said to Zhou Fugui with trepidation, "Birth and death span a thousand lives, causes arise and vanish. Xiao Qing is fortunate to have a destiny with you, husband, to be together."
"Hmm, what are you trying to say?" Zhou Fugui nodded, hearing her words.
"Husband..." Zhou Fugui's impatience was growing, causing Xiao Qing to become flustered. She stammered, "Princess Ziyue is a good person. She took great care of me back then, but... but she has no fate with you, husband."
"No fate? What do you mean?" Zhou Fugui looked at Xiao Qing and said, "Xiao Qing, speak quickly. Zhou has seen much of the world and can withstand anything."
"Oh..." Xiao Qing knelt before Zhou Fugui and whispered, "Princess Ziyue... Princess Ziyue is getting married."
"Getting married?" Though Zhou Fugui had some inkling, he was still startled by Xiao Qing's words. He stood up and exclaimed, "Getting married? Impossible!"
If Murong Huiying had been imprisoned or even harmed, Zhou Fugui wouldn't have been surprised, only pained and saddened. He would have sought revenge afterwards. But the news of Murong Huiying getting married shocked him immensely, and he found it utterly unbelievable.
"Husband, it's true. The imperial decree has been issued, citing the late emperor's will... Princess Ziyue... she will be the Consort of Prince Lelang," Xiao Qing also stood up, standing beside Zhou Fugui.
"Consort of Prince Lelang?" Zhou Fugui stared at Xiao Qing, "The deposed Crown Prince Cheng? The decree has been issued? The late emperor's will?"
"This is impossible, impossible..." Zhou Fugui slumped back down, murmuring to himself.
Zhou Fugui felt a throbbing in his head, as if his thoughts were a muddled mess.
Murong Huiying marrying Prince Lelang, the former Crown Prince Cheng? How could this be possible?
The Crown Prince, as the heir apparent, held supreme power while on the throne. But once deposed, his life was worth less than a dog's, often ending tragically, or at best, perpetual imprisonment.
Marrying the deposed Crown Prince would be like throwing Murong Huiying into a fiery abyss!
If this were true, then Murong Huiying was certainly not acting willingly. She must have been coerced, and the most likely person to do so would be the current Empress Dowager Murong Qing.
But what about the late Emperor Yan, Murong Xi's will? Zhou Fugui had no way to ascertain its authenticity. However, he recalled Murong Huiying mentioning that Murong Cheng had coveted her beauty before. This would suggest the will was likely genuine.
Hadn't Murong Huiying been searching for Zhou Fugui at Xue Lin City and the other three passes as an escape from her marriage?
Therefore, it was difficult to say whether Murong Huiying's impending marriage to the deposed Crown Prince was indeed the Empress Dowager Murong Qing's coercion.
With a thousand threads of thought tangled in his mind, Zhou Fugui felt his mind in utter disarray.
"Husband, Princess Ziyue marrying into the Prince's manor is certainly not her will," Xiao Qing said, seeing Zhou Fugui's distressed state. "But an arm cannot twist a thigh."
"An arm cannot twist a thigh? What if I insist on twisting it?" Zhou Fugui said coldly.
Xiao Qing shook her head sadly.
Zhou Fugui's heart belonged to Murong Huiying, but Xiao Qing's heart belonged entirely to him. Zhou Fugui's joy was her joy, often exceeding his own. Zhou Fugui's sorrow and distress were also hers, and often more profound.
Xiao Qing's meaning was clear: if Zhou Fugui persisted in defying fate, the price would be the lives of all his relatives, his ten thousand troops, and their families.
Zhou Fugui understood this clearly, hence his extreme distress and helplessness.
His mother, Lady Liu, was like a lead weight around Zhou Fugui's neck. So were his elder sister-in-law, his younger sister, his nephew, Xiao Qing, and his ten thousand troops. They all hung around his neck, pressing down on him, making it difficult to breathe, almost impossible to move.
At this moment, any thought or action, any perceived misstep by Zhou Fugui, could jeopardize thousands of lives. With the slightest error, ten thousand heads would roll.
"Xiao Qing, what should I do?" Zhou Fugui asked Xiao Qing, his voice full of pain.
...
"Where is she?" Zhou Fugui asked Pan Jiagui coldly in a secret chamber of the Marquis of Yanping Liang.
"She should be in the palace, preparing for the wedding," Pan Jiagui replied, shrinking his neck with his hands tucked in his sleeves, a hint of fear in his voice.
Once the imperial decree was revealed to the world, how could the common folk not know? The people of You Province were largely aware, except for Zhou Fugui. Pan Jiagui and his men, tasked with gathering information, certainly knew but were reluctant to tell him. Now, with Zhou Fugui pressing him, Pan Jiagui had no choice but to tell the truth.
"You lied to me so miserably! I'll settle the score with you later!" Zhou Fugui pointed at Pan Jiagui, enraged.
Zhou Fugui then tidied himself up and walked towards the exit.
"Fugui, Marquis, General, what are you doing?" Pan Jiagui unfurled his hands from his sleeves and grabbed Zhou Fugui tightly, asking.
"What am I doing? Some things need to be clarified in person," Zhou Fugui replied coldly.
"Oh, my dear General, this is not advisable, not advisable at all!" Pan Jiagui clung to Zhou Fugui, pleading. "What kind of place is the inner palace? How can you barge in there? If something happens, how will this old ghost explain it to the brothers? It's just a woman, a foreign woman at that, is she worth you disregarding everything? We brothers have it tough enough as it is! Are we brothers collectively worth less than a foreign woman?"
"A person without integrity cannot stand, and this applies not only to men but also to women," Zhou Fugui sighed, looking at Pan Jiagui. "Loyalty and righteousness. The brothers represent righteousness, and she represents affection. I find it hard to let go of either. How can you compare them? Old Ghost, don't worry. Even the strictest inner palace won't stop me. Nothing will go wrong."
But how could Pan Jiagui be reassured? He still clung tightly to Zhou Fugui, refusing to let go. In his rage, Zhou Fugui pushed him, and Pan Jiagui stumbled back three feet.
"Pi'e, Hu Jue, you two dunderheads! Your master is going to his death, why are you just standing there?" Pan Jiagui, ignoring the pain in his backside, shouted at Pi'e and Hu Jue who stood by the door.
The two, Pi'e and Hu Jue, stood like iron towers at the door, blocking Zhou Fugui's path.
"Master dies, Pi'e dies!" Pi'e, a man of few words, expressed his loyalty and willingness to die for his master in those four simple characters.
"Brother dies, Hu Jue dies! But why should Master and Brother die?" Hu Jue asked.
"Slap! Slap!"
Zhou Fugui, angered, slapped Pi'e and Hu Jue, one each. "Can't you two say something cheerful? What's all this talk of death and life? It's not that dire. You underestimate Zhou!"
...
"Crack!" With a soft sound, a grappling hook caught onto the tall wall of the Yan Palace. Then, a shadowy figure scaled the wall with interlaced hands.
Zhou Fugui had to find Murong Huiying and get a clear answer.
In truth, everything was already clear. Regardless of who was coercing her, Murong Huiying was being forced to marry the deposed Crown Prince Cheng.
So, what use would it be for Zhou Fugui to find Murong Huiying? It would only add to his sorrow, with no other effect.
However, Zhou Fugui ignored all advice and insisted on going, if only to see the woman he loved, the once supremely noble princess, now a pitiful captive.
Avoiding the patrolling guards, Zhou Fugui scaled the wall and leaped onto a rooftop, crouching there to observe his surroundings.
Zhou Fugui did not know the art of Qiqing. However, years of military service had made him incredibly agile.
Within the Yan Palace, apart from a few extremely grand and majestic palaces, the rest were mostly low-rise buildings, not much different from the houses of wealthy families.
A moment later, two young eunuchs carrying lanterns slowly approached.
...
"Pfft!" With a sound, Zhou Fugui plunged a short blade into the throat of one of the eunuchs. The eunuch's eyes widened with extreme fear and confusion. He clutched his throat with his hands, curled up on the ground, and after a few struggles, died.
"Anyone who makes a sound dies!" Zhou Fugui threatened the other eunuch with the blood-dripping short blade.
"Thump!" The eunuch knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, but dared not beg for mercy.
"Where is Princess Ziyue?" Zhou Fugui asked in a low voice.
The eunuch shook his head.
At this moment, he dared not lie, so Zhou Fugui asked again, "Where is the deposed Crown Prince?"
The eunuch pointed towards the western cold palace.
Zhou Fugui nodded.
A short while later, two cold bodies lay in the shadows of the Yan Palace.
Previously, during his infiltration of the Left Virtuous King's manor, Zhou Fugui had shown mercy. But tonight, infiltrating the Yan Palace, Zhou Fugui acted ruthlessly, showing no pity.
Showing mercy tonight would have put his family and troops at risk.
As Zhou Fugui infiltrated the western cold palace, he didn't notice a slender figure slipping out of the cold palace.
...
"Giddy-up... giddy-up... giddy-up..."
"Father Emperor, your son wants to ride a horse, no, your son wants to be an eagle, yes, an eagle, to fly out of this deep palace! Hahahaha!"
"Cluck cluck... cluck cluck..."
In the cold palace, the deposed Crown Prince Cheng flapped his arms, his obese body spinning in circles within the courtyard. Guards and eunuchs surrounded him, clapping and laughing as if at a cabaret.
Zhou Fugui, hidden on the rooftop, observed for a long time but found no sign of Murong Huiying. With a sigh, he quietly departed.
Zhou Fugui's sigh was not for the deposed Crown Prince Cheng, who had once humiliated him, but for Murong Huiying.
He lamented that Yingying was being forced to marry such a deranged individual!