The city gate was bustling with activity.
It was a warm spring day, and there was an endless stream of luxurious horses and magnificent carriages traveling out of the city to enjoy the scenery. As far as the eye could see, dust flew into the air and colorful curtains fluttered into the sky.
By the side of the main road, merchant fleets waiting to enter the city were in a winding line, twisting and turning. The end could not be seen.
A flourishing scene in a time of peace and prosperity.
When the carriage of Grand Duke Wei, Li Zhongqian, drove into the Imperial City, the people on both sides of the road recognized the Xie family's banner. Those who were leaving the city stopped their carriages and horses, unable to help themselves from stopping and watching.
The guards with swords riding in front of and behind the carriage all wore mourning clothes. In mourning garments from head to toe, they carried solemn looks.
They were in mourning for Princess Wenzhao.
The people were talking, whispering: I heard that Grand Duke Wei was seriously wounded, his martial arts skills completely ruined; he can never go to war again. His only full-blooded sister died in a foreign country. It is truly pitiful and unfortunate!
In the midst of the discussion, the carriage curtains didn't move in the wind, hanging low the entire time. The Second Prince, who liked to ride galloping into the city atop a fine steed after every victory, seemed ashamed to see people. His face didn't appear from beginning to end.
The people watched the carriage drive away, recalling the glowing, heroic Second Prince. They looked at each other, shook their heads, and sighed.
The news soon reached the Taiji Palace. A eunuch entered the hall to inform.
Li De frowned and said, "Have the Thousand Bull Guards watch him."
The eunuch responded yes, and the order was passed down to the Thousand Bull Guards. Caught off guard, they hurriedly gathered their men and rushed out of the inner palace to meet him.
A shichen later, hundreds of guards in military attire, both the Left and Right Thousand Guards and the Left and Right Valor Guards were standing in front of the Grand Duke Wei Residence. Waiting in a tight formation, swords flashing in the doorway, the guards stood in wait everywhere from the main street to the square.
Zheng Jing and Xue Wu hastily answered the summons and waited in front of the front gate.
The young boys who used to chase the Seventh Princess on horseback were now officials in the same court, both in green round-necked official robes.
Xue Wu looked nervous, unceasingly wiping his sweat.
Zheng Jing glanced at him: "What are you afraid of?"
Xue Wu returned a blank stare: "Zheng San, are you not afraid of Grand Duke Wei? Who was it that fell off their horse in fear of Grand Duke Wei back then?"
Hearing him bring up the old story, Zheng Jing swallowed his words back.
Yes, he also feared Li Zhongqian-which of the noble sons who admired Princess Wenzhao were not afraid of Li Zhongqian?
Princess Wenzhao was gentle and elegant. She and Li Zhongqian were both born from Noble Consort Xie, but he was domineering and rude. The skies ranked first, the land second, and him third. His actions regularly shocked everyone, garnering the world's disgrace.
In the two years that Princess Wenzhao received marriage proposals, more than half of the sons of influential clans were beaten to within an inch of their lives by Li Zhongqian.
Leaving the others aside, take for example the Prime Minister Residence's Xiao Balang. He raised several beautiful concubines outside and even had three or four children. He dared to court Princess Wenzhao and was beaten by Li Zhongqian until his entire head was wrapped in gauze.
The eldest grandson of Boling's Cui Residence swore that he had no concubines, no outer women, and no illegitimate children, but was found to prefer the non-fairer sex. Li Zhongqian was furious and broke Cui Dalang's leg in front of Emperor Li De and the civil and military ministers.
Zheng Jing was also present at the time. Cui Dalang's blood-curdling screams reverberated harshly in the hall. The following three days, he felt pain for Cui Dalang every time he recalled it.
So when Zheng Jing went to the wangfu to propose marriage, his mother wept and almost knelt down to beg him. Everyone knew how much Li Zhongqian loved Princess Wenzhao. He had no merit and no reputation; how did he dare go to propose marriage to the princess? Did he not want to live?
Zheng Jing had hidden his ability since birth, never doing anything out of the ordinary, but he had, for once, acted recklessly for his marriage.
He thought he was fearless, but when Li Zhongqian's eyes coldly looked over, he was still scared out of his mind and wanted to find a crack in the ground to hide.
That icy look Zheng Jing remembered especially well. Even now, he still felt a chill down his spine when he thought about it.
At that time, he sincerely asked to marry Princess Wenzhao. Yet, Li Zhongqian's eyes were like he wanted to immediately chop off his head.
Now, Princess Wenzhao was dead.
She died alone, thousands of miles away. Before she died, who knew how much she had been tortured.
Would Li Zhongqian, who broke Cui Dalang's leg, be able to rest in peace?
All the officials in the court knew the answer: no.
The Taiji Palace and the Eastern Palace had tightened their security. The wangfu's personal soldiers were dispersed and transferred to various government offices, and only the Xie family's personal soldiers were left at Li Zhongqian's side. The ministers were still not at ease and sent the Xie family's personal soldiers away, allowing Li Zhongqian to bring only twenty people into the city.
A mere twenty people could not overturn the sky.
And Li Zhongqian had become crippled, unable to even hold his golden hammers. Otherwise, how did Li De dare let him come back to the capital?
Zheng Jing was calm and collected, but Xue Wu could not calm down.
He looked in the direction of the main street on tiptoe, gulped, and whispered: "You and I are new to the court, our roots are shallow, so we were sent here to meet Grand Duke Wei. Those people did this deliberately! When Grand Duke Wei arrives later and takes his anger out on us, will His Majesty blame him? We are here for Grand Duke Wei to vent his anger!"
Zheng Jing lowered his eyes, unspeaking.
Xue Wu laughed and said sarcastically, "Zheng San, haven't you heard about He Lanyang?"
Zheng Jing shook his head.
Xue Wu came closer and lowered his voice: "The year before last, when His Majesty and Southern Chu were fighting for Jingxiang, there was a big defeat. Imperial Strategist He Lanyang proposed to marry off Princess Wenzhao in exchange for the support of Jingxiang's powerful clans. Grand Duke Wei was on the battlefield at the time. When he learned of it, he was furious. He led three thousand light calvaries and broke out of the siege, relieving the situation at Jingxiang. After which, he rushed into the commanding tent and personally killed He Lanyang before His Majesty. With a single blade, the tent was full of blood.
"From then on, no one dared to have any ideas about Princess Wenzhao's marriage. Otherwise, how could we people have the opportunity to propose marriage?"
Xue Wu shivered again, his cold sweat overflowing.
"I am not trying to scare you. On this trip back to the capital, Grand Duke Wei will definitely kill a few people to vent his anger. His Majesty is sorry for Princess Wenzhao, and will certainly not punish him. I have offended Grand Duke Wei. Today may be the day my soul departs under Grand Duke Wei's golden hammer!"
Just as his words fell, the reeling sound of a carriage rolling over the tiles came from the main street. A carriage surrounded by white-clothed guards slowly approached.
Xue Wu was so scared that he jumped three feet high.
Zheng Jing stood up in greeting.
Xue Wu was dumbfounded, muttering that Zheng Jing was fearless, and gritted his teeth, signaling the surrounding guards to be more alert before following him.
The carriage came to a halt in front of the stone steps, and the Commandant of the Thousand Bull Guards told the eunuch holding the imperial edict to wait at the side. He came forward with a sword in his hand and asked, "His Majesty's decree is here. Won't Grand Duke Wei get off to obey the decree?"
The guards did not say a word.
The Commandant frowned and repeated loudly, "His Majesty's decree is here. Why hasn't Grand Duke Wei gotten off to receive the decree?"
The curtain did not move, and the guards did not utter a word.
The Commandant was indignant and took a step forward. Lifting the curtain, he saw the scene in the carriage, froze, and subconsciously recoiled two steps back.
Zheng Jing and Xue Wu's eyes followed his line of sight.