Chapter 435 The Death of Xie Shi'an
The city wall was very high.
Xie Shi'an looked up at Yun Chu, the strong wind whipping her robes so fiercely he couldn't clearly see her face.
He suddenly laughed. "I wonder how the Empress Dowager plans to deal with me?"
"You incited feudal lords to rebel, committing such a grave crime. Naturally, you'll be beheaded." Yun Chu's voice was icy cold. "There's no need to choose an auspicious time. Let it be now. Guards, summon the executioner!"
Soon, the executioner appeared below the city tower. He escorted Xie Shi'an to an open area, holding a large decapitation blade as he stood behind him.
Sunlight reflected off the blade, casting a cold gleam.
"The Empress Dowager is truly heartless." Xie Shi'an lifted his head. "I called you mother for four years. Once a mother, always a mother. Did you never truly regard me as your son?"
Yun Chu's lips curved in mockery. "If our situations were reversed today, and I had lost, would you spare me?"
"I would," Xie Shi'an answered without hesitation. "Everything I've done was only to restore the Xie family. Once the Xie family was restored, I would have invited you back to the Xie residence to be my mother again."
Yun Chu shook her head.
To survive, Xie Shi'an would say any falsehood.
She had spared him time and again, given him chance after chance, yet he still walked the same path as in their previous life.
This time, it must end.
She raised her hand and made a gesture.
Those below relayed her command down to the city gate, where a civil official threw down a token and shouted, "Carry out the execution!"
The executioner took a swig of strong liquor, sprayed it on the blade's edge, raised it high, and brought it down.
Xie Shi'an looked up in despair.
He saw the woman on the city wall wasn't watching him but gazing at the sky.
Her expression was utterly indifferent, as if his life meant nothing to her...
Those four years of mother-son affection seemed like a joke.
The blade fell, and excruciating pain followed.
Xie Shi'an was instantly decapitated, his warm blood splattering everywhere.
His head rolled across the ground, his one remaining eye wide open.
A beautiful vision appeared before him.
He seemed to see another version of himself.
Having been outstanding since childhood, after acknowledging Yun Chu as his mother, he gained access to all the Yun family's resources and smoothly entered the Imperial Academy.
He excelled at the academy, earning praise from all his tutors, who even brought him to meet the Emperor. The Emperor bestowed many gifts upon him.
He successfully participated in the imperial examinations, becoming a Cultivated Talent, then a Provincial Graduate, followed by a Metropolitan Graduate, and finally the Emperor's personally appointed Number One Scholar—a Triple Crown winner who topped all three levels of exams, enjoying boundless glory for a time.
It was Yun Chu who personally hosted his Number One Scholar banquet, inviting all the influential figures in the capital to celebrate.
After the banquet, he entered the Hanlin Academy. Thanks to the Yun family's influence, he started as a sixth-rank Compiler and quickly gained the Emperor's favor. Within a year, he was promoted to a fifth-rank official, then rose steadily through the ranks. In the final scene of the vision, he entered the Grand Secretariat, becoming a first-rank Grand Secretary—the Chief Minister of the realm.
That other version of himself in the vision lived such a brilliant and glorious life.
While he lay here, head separated from body, dead with unclosed eyes...
Yun Chu looked down from the city tower and spoke calmly, "Notify Yuan Shi to come collect Xie Shi'an's body."
Ting Shuang nodded and went to carry out the order.Yuan Shi had not gone far, staying just outside the capital's outskirts. When the great battle ended, she attempted to retrieve Tao Yiniang's body, but the scene was too gruesome—she couldn't locate it anywhere... Just then, Ting Shuang approached and said calmly, "Madam Xie, Xie Shi'an is dead. Please go collect his body."
Yuan Shi's lips trembled violently.
Ever since learning that Xie Shi'an had become Cheng Wang's counselor, she knew this day would come eventually.
Though it was expected, she couldn't help but burst into tears.
Weeping, she walked to the city gate tower and saw Xie Shi'an's unclosed eyes. She rushed over and gently closed them: "An Ge'er, rest in peace. In your next life, don't be so clever—be an ordinary person, like Kang Ge'er, just ordinary is fine..."
With great effort, she arranged Xie Shi'an's corpse in one place.
On her back, she carried the sleeping Xie Shi Kang.
In her arms, she held Xie Shi'an's body.
In her hands, a bundle contained Xie Shi'an's head.
She struggled to stand upright, swaying unsteadily, nearly collapsing to the ground.
Ting Shuang stood beside her and said calmly, "The Xie clan members from the Jizhou ancestral home have returned all the Xie family's farmlands. From now on, Madam Xie should live well in Jizhou with Xie Shi Kang and not return to the capital."
Yuan Shi wept softly, "Please convey my gratitude to Chu'er... and to the Empress Dowager."
If not for the Empress Dowager's maneuvering, how would the Xie clan members return the farmlands to an old woman like her? Without the Empress Dowager's protection, she couldn't have safeguarded those lands either...
The chaos finally ended.
The capital's gates opened at last.
Everything returned to tranquility.
The court began rewarding merits.
Yun Chu reinstated Fan Ming as deputy commander of the Imperial Guards.
Other deserving officials were rewarded accordingly.
The eight study companions by the young Emperor's side also received gifts.
Meanwhile, Yun Chu didn't forget Jiang Yiniang's contributions—she had the court issue an edict conferring upon Jiang Yiniang the ninth-rank title of Ru Ren, along with gold, silver, and jewels.
As for Cheng Wang, Yun Chu first stripped him of his title, confiscated all his fiefdom properties, demoted him to commoner status, then bestowed a cup of poisoned wine—granting him a whole corpse to preserve imperial dignity...
The aftermath kept them busy for about three or four days.
After completing these tasks, Yun Chu turned her attention to the Eastern Tomb Kingdom battlefield.
After the new emperor ascended the throne in Eastern Tomb Kingdom, he joined forces with a neighboring small country to confront the Great Jin troops, creating a stalemate where advance or retreat became difficult.
While she was contemplating tactics, suddenly, frontline battle reports arrived.
"Reporting to Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager! When the 100,000 troops from Dayuan Kingdom joined Eastern Tomb Kingdom's forces, they suddenly turned traitor, catching Eastern Tomb Kingdom completely off guard! Eastern Tomb Kingdom has consequently lost six cities!" the messenger guard announced loudly. "Currently, Eastern Tomb Kingdom's territory is divided into three parts: Eastern Tomb Kingdom holds one-third, our Great Jin occupies one-third, and Dayuan Kingdom controls the remaining territory. Dayuan Kingdom has sent envoys proposing to join Great Jin in devouring Eastern Tomb Kingdom. The Valiant General cannot decide and specially requests the court's resolution!"
Yun Chu truly hadn't anticipated such a reversal on the battlefield.
She narrowed her eyes, pondered briefly, and said slowly, "Dayuan Kingdom betrayed their ally Eastern Tomb Kingdom—they could betray our Great Jin just as easily. However, in a tripartite confrontation, allies are indeed necessary to quickly conclude the war. Cooperation is currently the optimal strategy, but we cannot place all our hopes on this alliance..."
Court officials began offering suggestions and strategies one after another.Though internal strife persisted, they remained united when facing external threats.
Once the battle strategy was confirmed, they immediately dispatched a messenger guard to deliver the orders to the front lines.
After completing all her tasks, Yun Chu returned to Kunning Palace, utterly exhausted.
Chu Changsheng was painting, and after chatting with her daughter for a while, Yun Chu went to the adjacent room to check on Jue Ge'er.
Entering the room, she found the wet nurse asleep on the daybed, and the child lying there was also sleeping.
She tiptoed closer to the bed, gently touched the child's head, then suddenly froze.
Yanking the quilt aside, her pupils contracted sharply.
This child was not Jue Ge'er!
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