Chapter 721
Chapter 721
The new King of Chu said nothing, merely cupping his hands in a formal gesture. Only then did Chu Ren fully come to his senses and cry out sharply.
"It wasn't me. I did not murder my royal father. It was Shen Lang. Shen Lang killed him. I had nothing to do with it."
The empire's Prince of Yan said coldly.
"How dare you make excuses in a situation like this? Bring in An Liang."
Grand Eunuch An Liang entered and once again confessed everything from beginning to end, including how Chu Ren had carried on an affair with Consort An and where they had their secret trysts. There were even tokens of their affection exchanged between them. The clothes Consort An had made for Chu Ren, the poems Chu Ren had written for Consort An—a mountain of irrefutable evidence was presented.
"Your Highness Chu Ren, to leave proof of your affair with Consort An, did you not once prick the inside of your thigh to leave the character 'Shu'? That is Her Majesty Consort An's maiden name."
An Liang continued his confession, while Chu Ren shouted in denial.
"No, it's not true!"
Without another word, Chu Ren immediately pulled down his trousers to show everyone, yelling.
"Everyone, look! There is no character 'Shu' on my leg."
Grand Eunuch An Liang stepped forward and slapped the inside of Chu Ren's thigh with his palm.
*Smack!*
A character appeared, and just as he'd said, it was the character 'Shu.' Moreover, the calligraphy was clearly Consort An's. Chu Ren was stunned, his mind going blank.
*Damn it all! Are there ghosts in this world?*
The poison Shen Lang had made him take had initially caused his life force to fester, but then he had inexplicably recovered. But when had the character 'Shu' been etched onto his leg? He had no memory of it. When had he ever had an affair with Consort An? Of course, he couldn't deny that he had felt some desire for her, as she was incredibly beautiful. But Consort An had never even met his gaze, let alone left her own palace. Yet, all the evidence was so conclusive that Chu Ren even began to suspect he had lost his memory and had truly carried on an affair with her.
"I did not assassinate my royal father. It wasn't me, it wasn't... Even if I were a beast, a madman, why would I assassinate my royal father at a time like this? Why would I do such a thing?"
Chu Ren wailed. An imperial official asked coldly.
"Then why did the former King of Chu die suddenly right after receiving your secret letter?"
"It must have been Shen Lang! The secret letter was written by my royal mother, and Shen Lang gave it to me."
The imperial official said.
"We dispatched another imperial investigation team to the capital of Chu to investigate the matter. The Queen of Chu stated that she never wrote a secret letter to the former King of Chu. Consort An chose to commit suicide after her affair with you was exposed."
"No, no. Shen Lang met me in person. He gave me two secret letters and told me to go to my royal father as quickly as possible and deliver them to him."
"Shen Lang never met you. You fled the capital with the help of Privy Council envoy Yan Jing when Chu's reinforcements attacked the capital. We have Yan Jing's testimony here."
Chu Ren felt as if an endless darkness was closing in on him. This world was truly absurd, too dark a place. He went before the new King of Chu, immediately fell to his knees, and kowtowed.
"It wasn't me, it wasn't. Elder Brother, I truly did not assassinate our royal father. I really didn't do it."
The new King of Chu sighed inwardly. This younger brother of his was incompetent, yet secretly harbored unspeakable ambitions. The first secret letter claimed that the Crown Prince had conspired with Consort An to assassinate the former King of Chu, so there was no need for Chu Ren to reveal it. But when the new King of Chu was taken captive, Chu Ren thought the throne was beckoning to him and brought out that letter as well. Grand Tutor Li Xuanji had immediately tricked him, taken the letter, burned it, and then acted as if nothing had happened.
Yet, no matter how this brother had harbored ill intentions toward him, the new King of Chu could not bear this situation. It wasn't out of pity for his brother, but because he was inwardly furious at the conclusion the empire had presented. The empire had not revealed the truth about the former king's death; instead, they had painted him as a man whose consort had an affair with his own son. If this story spread, how would the world view the former King of Chu? Assassinated by his son, and his own woman having an affair with that son—would they not see him as a pitiful wretch? Did they have to cast such a stain on the dead King of Chu? But even so, he had to grit his teeth and accept this conclusion.
"Elder Brother, it truly wasn't me. I really didn't do it..."
Chu Ren wailed, banging his forehead on the floor, and the new King of Chu spoke in a trembling voice.
"Younger Brother, I always thought you only cared for amusement, but I never expected you to commit such a mad act. Guards, take Chu Ren to the dungeons and await the royal mother's judgment."
He was the newly crowned King of Chu, but he did not want to kill his brother, so he left the decision to the Queen Dowager. A heart-wrenching wail followed as Chu Ren was dragged away and thrown into the dungeons. The empire's Prince of Yan asked.
"King of Chu, do you accept the results of this investigation?"
"This King accepts!"
"Then sign here."
The King of Chu's hand trembled, but he quickly steadied it, signed his name on the edict, and stamped his seal. Following him, Ning Qi signed, and finally, the empire's Prince of Yan signed and stamped his seal. Thus, the case of the King of Chu's assassination, after much turmoil, was concluded. No matter how many questions were raised from the outside, this was the only truth of the incident. Following this, a group of people would be executed, Consort An's entire family would be put to death, and a dozen people from Mount Fudao would also die. Once Chu Ren was also dead, the case would be completely closed.
The empire's Prince of Yan said.
"Now that the truth of the incident has been clearly revealed, I shall return to Yanjing to report to His Majesty."
The King of Chu bowed and said.
"Respectfully see the Prince of Yan off!"
Then, he faced the direction of Yanjing and performed the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows, saying.
"Your subject thanks you for Your Majesty's profound grace. Long live, long live, long live the Emperor!"
And so, the empire's Prince of Yan departed.
* * *
Inside a secret chamber in the King of Chu's barracks.
Chu Ren had cried himself to sleep, and even in his sleep, he wept. He was completely lost in despair, with no will to eat or drink. Just then, the door outside opened again.
"I'm not eating. I said I'm not eating. Get out!"
He looked up and saw the new King of Chu entering with wine and snacks in his hands. At once, Chu Ren fell to his knees again, wailing loudly.
"Elder Brother, I really didn't kill our royal father. It wasn't me."
The King of Chu neatly placed the wine and snacks on the table.
"Seventh Brother, I know you didn't kill him. You didn't know the full story, and you never had an affair with Consort An."
Hearing this, Chu Ren looked at the King of Chu, overjoyed, and said.
"Elder Brother, Your Majesty, save me, please save me!"
The King of Chu poured a cup of wine for himself, then poured one for Chu Ren.
"Seventh Brother, drink."
He then drained his cup in one gulp. Trembling, Chu Ren drank his cup of wine.
"Seventh Brother, do you know who the true culprit behind our royal father's death is?"
"Shen Lang."
"He merely took advantage of the opportunity. The one who truly killed our royal father was His Majesty, the Emperor. Consort An was just a spy planted by Mount Fudao at our father's side."
Hearing this, Chu Ren's mind went blank for a moment, then he began to tremble in shock. Watching him, the King of Chu said with tears welling in his eyes.
"Not only did he kill our royal father, but he also trampled on his corpse multiple times. He has stained our Chu royal family with the infamy of a father and son destroying each other. Moreover, he has made our father into a man whose consort had an affair with his son. This is a great humiliation for our State of Chu, and a great humiliation for me."
Chu Ren asked in a trembling voice.
"Elder Brother, is... is the world truly this dark?"
"The world is about to change. That supreme Emperor is trying to cover the sky with his palm. He did it anyway, knowing full well that not punishing Ning Qi would strike fear into the hearts of the world's lords. The empire's direction has already changed! Just you watch, the Duke of Liang will soon be enfeoffed as a king."
After the fall of Jiangli, the State of Liang was re-established, but as a duchy, not a kingdom. Yet, Liang had always acted as the Great Yan Dynasty's loyal dog, doing whatever the empire commanded without question. When the empire implemented the New Policies, Liang implemented them too. When the empire abolished the Department of State Affairs and established a new cabinet, Liang followed suit and created its own cabinet. Furthermore, the ruler of Liang formally submitted a memorial, claiming they lacked talent and requesting the empire's cabinet to dispatch someone to guide Liang in establishing its own. Their tail-wagging and begging made it seem as if they were desperate to say to the Emperor, "Please hurry and send us a chancellor." To reward such a state, it was highly likely that the Emperor would enfeoff the Duke of Liang as a king.
"It is a great humiliation for our State of Chu, but... I have no choice but to swallow it. Even the phrase 'enduring humiliation for a greater cause' cannot describe what I feel. For the great enterprise passed down by our ancestors, our State of Chu must stand with His Majesty the Emperor at all times."
Then, the King of Chu took out a vial of deadly poison and poured it into Chu Ren's cup.
"Seventh Brother, I will see you off on your journey. This way, you can at least leave behind an intact corpse, and I can protect you as a member of our family."
Chu Ren cried his heart out, saying.
"I don't want to die, I don't want to die..."
Chu Ren collapsed to the floor, his body trembling so much he had no strength left. The King of Chu approached him, grabbed his jaw, pried it open, and poured the poisoned wine into his mouth. A moment later, Chu Ren was dead, bleeding from all seven orifices.
The next day, news spread throughout the King of Chu's barracks that Chu Ren, the seventh son of the former king, had committed suicide.
* * *
The next day, the states of Chu and Yue formally signed an armistice agreement. Chu agreed to withdraw its troops and restore the border between the two states to its previously established line. Chu stated its willingness to withdraw from all occupied Yue territory—at least, that's what was written in the armistice. However, a closer look would reveal that restoring the border to its "previously established line" meant returning to the border of twenty-five years ago. In other words, the border Chu referred to was two hundred li deeper into Yue's territory. This meant the State of Yue was ceding over ten thousand square kilometers of land, which was necessary for the King of Chu to explain to his people that Chu had gained something from this war.
Conversely, when the State of Yue made its public announcement, it would repeatedly emphasize that Chu had withdrawn its forces and retreated from all occupied cities and commanderies, without mentioning how much land was ceded. After all, the maps of this world were extremely vague and not at all precise. At a glance, it would seem as if the territory of Yue had not changed, and that all its original commanderies and cities were still present, with none lost. In any case, Chu would first declare a great victory to its people, and Yue would simply have to declare a great victory to its own people as well.