A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 10.1

During the Yingtong era, the royal house of the Lin Dynasty was in decline, and the world was in pursuit of power.

Taking advantage of the situation, Beiyong installed a puppet regime and proceeded to relentlessly swallow up the heartland of the Lin Dynasty.

The Divine Land fell into ruin, plagued by internal strife and external invasion.

The Emperor of Beiyong, disguised as a leisurely prince, came to the capital Yongdu for a grand meeting and negotiation. He took a fancy to the fourth young lady of the Rong family, whom he saw at a temple fair. He specified that a noblewoman of the Rong family must travel far to Beiyong for a marriage alliance (Heqin). As a sign of sincerity, he was willing to revise the wartime treaty between the two nations and temporarily halt the conflict.

The Fourth Young Lady Rong was a well-known talented beauty in Yongdu, and she was deeply in love with the current emperor. She was unwilling to go.

At that time, Emperor Xuanyuan had not yet ascended the throne. He was titled Prince Hui and had little influence, and the territory of the Lin Dynasty was fragmented. Given these circumstances, the Rong clan gathered to deliberate, deciding that the marriage of a daughter of their clan in exchange for peace under heaven was necessary. The entire clan knelt before the fourth young lady, begging her to marry.

The Fourth Young Lady Rong, who was normally gentle and demure, was unyielding on this matter. She held a golden hairpin to her neck, preferring death over compliance. The Rong clan elders pretended to give in. Seizing an opportunity when the fourth young lady was off guard, they drugged and confined her, intending to secretly send her off in a sedan chair.

This matter still reached the ears of Prince Hui, Xie Lin.

He and Chen Yuanqing rode back from the battlefield, storming the Rong Residence and snatching the Fourth Young Lady Rong, who had been forcefully restrained and dressed in a large red wedding gown.

The Fourth Young Lady Rong was traumatized and developed a mental illness ever since.

Towards the end of the year, Prince Hui Xie Lin took Lin Jianshu, known as the “Ghost-Head Blade,” under his command, significantly increasing his power.

General He Niangong, the Duke of Zhenguo and God of the Lin Army, had four great disciples: Chen Chongming of the “Thousand-Ren Pine,” Lin Jianshu of the “Ghost-Head Blade,” Jiang Bojin of the “Flying Gnat Arrow,” and Yan Baizhang of the “Ten Thousand Chime-Axle.”

There was a saying among the populace that possessing just one of these four could contend for the world.

Furthermore, He Niangong created six volumes of world-engaging military strategy, known as the Six Volumes of He. The first three volumes covered “Vertical and Horizontal Alliances,” and the latter three “Yin and Yang.” He also created the “Hundred Devious Ways” and the “Centrist Method,” which were taught separately to the four, their respective techniques not being interchangeable.

The eldest disciple, Chen Yuanqing , was well-versed in “Vertical and Horizontal Alliances.” He achieved fame and success at a young age, and after graduating, he married He Hou’s only daughter, He Yunzhou, and wholeheartedly followed his cousin, Prince Hui. Lin Jianshu’s surrender, combining the “Vertical and Horizontal Alliances” with the “Yin and Yang,” undoubtedly added another wing to Prince Hui Xie Lin.

In the twentieth year of Yingtong, Prince Hui Xie Lin, supported and strategized by Chen Yuanqing and Lin Jianshu, forced the abdication, ascended the throne, and established ‘Xuanyuan’ as the new reign title.

The Fourth Young Lady Rong was granted the title of Noble Consort. However, the Emperor of Beiyong, feeling betrayed over the matter of the Rong family’s daughter, publicly executed all the Rong family members captured on the battlefield to vent his anger.

A hundred-year-old aristocratic family, adorned with hairpins and emblems, fell into obscurity in a single morning.

Chen Liangyu was not inclined to discern how much of this tragic story was true. Having been circulated for so many years, the details had long been revised countless times. Only those who were truly involved in the situation likely knew the truth of what transpired.

Outside the window, the rain poured down. Before long, it solidified into small hailstones that rattled against the window frames and the paper covering the windows, sounding like someone lightly tapping.

The thunder and lightning ceased. All that could be heard was Xie Wenjun’s clear voice: “Empress Mother passed away early. My Imperial Father once considered establishing my Consort Mother as the successor Empress. However, all the court officials knew that my Consort Mother had a physical ailment. Sometimes she couldn’t recognize people, and in her confusion, she didn’t even recognize my Imperial Father or me.”

She paused at this point.

Chen Liangyu heard the small person on the other side of the bed curtain sigh. This time, she heard it clearly.

“Yao Chongshan, the Minister of Works, who is also Noble Consort De’s father, joined a group of court officials in submitting a memorial, arguing that the mother of the nation could not be a person afflicted with madness. My Imperial Father acceded to their wishes and did not establish my Consort Mother as Empress, but he also never mentioned the matter of establishing an Empress again.”

Chen Liangyu had thought the rumors of the Noble Consort’s mental illness were just rumors, but hearing it confirmed by Xie Wenjun caused her a momentary pang of sorrow.

“And then?”

She uttered three words plainly, letting the person inside the curtain know that she was listening.

“After that, Noble Consort De regarded my Consort Mother and me as thorns in her side. Whether it was charcoal in winter or ice in summer, my Consort Mother’s monthly allowance was never delivered in full. The surplus was all sent to Noble Consort De’s palace. She didn’t lack those things in her palace; she just didn’t want my Consort Mother to have an easy time of it. She withheld the official allowances for the imperial consorts, so my Consort Mother couldn’t give out rewards, and the servants below didn’t work with their hearts. Confined within the four palace walls, wearing a person down day after day like this will eventually force them to their deaths.”

“And the Emperor? Did he just allow the Noble Consort to suffer such humiliation?” Chen Liangyu asked.

The rumors were indeed untrustworthy. If his love had truly been so deep that he risked a failed coup to rush back and rescue her from the residence, why would he only grant her a noble title and then allow her to be bullied in the palace?

Xie Wenjun gave a cold laugh, as if mocking her naiveté. “The heart of an Emperor is the most unfathomable thing, but it is not hard to guess.” She turned over. “The Yao family gained influence, and my maternal grandfather’s family no longer had anyone in court. Weighing the options, he had no choice but to let my Consort Mother and me be wronged first. As long as the inner palace and the outer court were generally peaceful, what did it matter if someone suffered a little?”

She could actually see through this layer.

“When I was still young, Noble Consort De led people to break into the palace, instructing the eunuchs and maidservants to search it. They somehow found a small doll that my Consort Mother had made for me when I was little, but there were words written on it and it was completely covered in needles.”

“She also somehow found an old Taoist priest, who claimed that my birth chart and horoscope were too strong, that I would bring misfortune to my parents and ruin the nation’s destiny. She persuaded my Imperial Father to send my Consort Mother and me to a Taoist temple for purification and cultivation. My Imperial Father actually believed it.” Xie Wenjun’s tone was like stagnant water; she expressed no hatred, not even a trace of resentment. She was merely stating a very common occurrence. “Fortunately, Imperial Brother the Crown Prince investigated, restored my Consort Mother’s and my innocence, burned that doll, and executed that nonsense-spouting old Taoist priest. Only then were my Consort Mother and I saved.”

Chen Liangyu felt a surge of astonishment that grew stronger and stronger, and by the end, she was listening with a knitted brow. Although she had never lived in the imperial palace, she knew what a great crime the practice of witchcraft and voodoo was in the imperial family. Once that charge was confirmed, Xie Wenjun’s mother and daughter, along with everyone in their palace, would all face death.

The inner palace of the imperial city was actually full of hidden murderous intent.