Xue Rucheng finally turned around and offered Xiao Jinyu a slight bow. "This old servant thanks Your Highness..." He shook his head with a bitter smile. "When I first arrived in the capital, Qin Luan served as the chief examiner for my imperial examination. I was considered his student, but in my youthful arrogance, I often acted unpredictably. He never fully trusted me. In this case, I was personally involved in two matters - both of which Qin Luan would consider failures... One was investigating the embezzled funds Qin Luan had planted in Yun Yi's treasury, and the other was bringing Xiao Heng's young son to meet him in the Heavenly Prison. In the first matter, I privately diverted three hundred twenty-four thousand five hundred sixty taels of silver and secretly distributed it to the families of the thirty-two thousand four hundred fifty-six soldiers who were buried alive - ten taels per household."
Xue Rucheng's gaze fell upon Xiao Jinyu's frail frame beneath his white robes, and his voice deepened. "In the second matter, I was tasked with secretly bringing Xiao Heng's young son to visit him in prison. Xiao Heng mistook me for Daozong Empress's confidant and entrusted me with some final requests. Moved by compassion, I agreed... After Daozong Emperor passed away, the Empress, feeling guilty about the child substitution scheme and considering it deception against the emperor, decided to follow him in death. Qin Luan had become too prominent, making Daozong Emperor uneasy. Before his death, he instructed Renzong Emperor to begin curtailing Qin Luan's power immediately upon ascending the throne. Having little connection with Qin Luan to begin with, and having assisted Renzong Emperor, I gained his trust. When Your Highness was three years old, Renzong Emperor consulted me about finding you a tutor. I recommended myself to fulfill the promise I made to Xiao Heng in prison."
Chu Chu listened and finally let out a long sigh of relief, her face blossoming into a sweet osmanthus-like smile. She had feared Xue Rucheng had been involved in murder and arson for that villainous leader. Hearing this, it seemed Xue Rucheng had done more good than bad. Even if Xiao Jinyu handled this according to the law, Xue Rucheng's merits would offset his faults, leaving him essentially blameless. All that circuitous storytelling had made her worry for nothing. "Grand Tutor Xue, recognizing your mistakes and making amends makes you a good person!"
"Thank you, Imperial Concubine..." Xue Rucheng sighed softly. "Having served as an official for over twenty years and received endless imperial grace, this matter has always weighed on my conscience. Only with Your Highnesses' forgiveness today can I peacefully proceed with this wedding celebration."
As Xue Rucheng's words faded, just as Chu Chu was about to offer congratulations, Xiao Jinyu suddenly broke into a coughing fit. He coughed for so long he seemed to lack even the strength to sit upright, leaning lightly against Chu Chu as he struggled to breathe.
Chu Chu worriedly stroked Xiao Jinyu's heaving back. "Your Highness, are you alright?"
Xue Rucheng frowned slightly and stepped forward, reaching for Xiao Jinyu's left wrist. Before he could check the pulse, Xiao Jinyu suddenly seized his hand. In that moment of surprise, the man who had seemed half-dead just moments before swiftly drew a dagger from his sleeve and slashed deeply across the wrist of the hand Xue Rucheng had extended to check his pulse.
Chu Chu was momentarily stunned by Xiao Jinyu's action, but her long experience as a coroner allowed her to instantly assess that Xiao Jinyu had used nearly all his strength to deliver this swift, deep cut - severing both the blood vessels and tendons in Xue Rucheng's right wrist.Xue Rucheng hastily clamped his left hand over his right arm, suppressing the blood gushing from the wound. He broke free from Xiao Jinyu's grasp and staggered back several steps, staring incredulously at Xiao Jinyu who still held the dagger tightly in hand. Having watched Xiao Jinyu grow up, he was certain this was the first time the prince had personally wielded a blade to injure someone - and this maiden act of violence aimed to cripple his very hand.
Xue Rucheng's arterial spray had stained Xiao Jinyu's pear-blossom-white robe crimson, with several droplets clinging to his pale neck like grotesque jewelry. Chu Chu had never seen Xiao Jinyu like this - gripping a bloodied dagger, eyes glacial, lips curved in a smile devoid of warmth but brimming with lethal intent.
She was even more bewildered than Xue Rucheng. How could this perpetually gentle man suddenly inflict such brutality upon his most respected mentor? Her voice trembled with terror as she clutched Xiao Jinyu's sleeve, "Wang Ye! What... what are you doing?!"
Xue Rucheng remained silent under Xiao Jinyu's piercing gaze, when an ethereal voice drifted down from the high ceiling beams, answering both their unspoken questions.
"Seeking vengeance, of course."
☆ 120 Manchu-Han Imperial Feast (XII)
Xiao Jinyu clearly hadn't anticipated a fourth presence in the chamber either. Though his brow furrowed slightly, his frosty gaze remained riveted on Xue Rucheng.
Chu Chu craned her neck searching for the figure who always descended like silent snowfall from the rafters, but the beams were too high and the room too dim. "Brother Jing!" she cried toward the shadows.
The response from above remained languid despite her urgency. "Don't fret, Imperial Concubine. Wang Ye merely intends to disable one hand. Grand Tutor Xue is too learned and ambitious to release his left hand in momentary fury, bleeding himself to death... Meaning, rest assured, the Grand Tutor currently lacks spare limbs to harm His Highness."
Though Xue Rucheng maintained pressure on his right arm, blood still seeped steadily from the wound, soaking his scarlet ceremonial robes until the stain blended seamlessly with the fabric. His lips grew ashen, body trembling faintly from pain as he stared at his perpetually courteous student. "Wang Ye..."
Xiao Jinyu kept his cold gaze fixed on Xue Rucheng while addressing the rooftop observer mildly, "Business?"
"Why else would I visit uninvited? Grand Tutor Xue didn't send me an invitation..." The voice elongated into a yawn, shifting position until the aged beams creaked in protest. "I've just returned from Heavenly Prison. The cell where Ning Jun Wang Xiao Heng was detained before his death has been scrubbed clean - not a trace remains, not even cobwebs. Far cleaner than these rafters... The warden said Grand Tutor Xue cleaned it meticulously two years ago during his incarceration. Steward Zhao informed me at the Royal Mansion that you'd brought the Imperial Concubine to deliver congratulatory gifts, so I invited myself."
Chu Chu stared blankly at Xue Rucheng's ghastly pale face, the man looking ready to collapse at any moment. "Grand Tutor Xue... why were you cleaning prison cells?"
OpenNovel