Vol 1 Chapter 10 (1/2)

Chapter Ten (Part 1)

Tu Qing Min and other court officials pressured the emperor to demote General Chen.

Chen Quan Ran didn’t want the situation to worsen so he escorted Mo Lan to the palace for interrogation.

The emperor worried about the safety of his closest friend Chen Quan Ran’s family. He sent some of his personal guards to secretly follow and protect Chen Quan Ran and Mo Lan.

Many court officials attended Mo Lan’s interrogation and they hoped Mo Lan would be convicted of treason. Because they feared General Chen’s power and they were scared their fates would end up like Tu Lang if they offended General Chen. Tu Lang’s death was a warning to them that the emperor favored General Chen over them.

The emperor wouldn’t have sat on the throne without marrying court officials’ relatives. The emperor felt powerless to protect Chen Quan Ran against the court officials’ collusion.

Many court officials supported Tu Qing Min because they believed after the emperor died, the emperor would pa.s.s the throne to Consort Tu’s son. Tu Qin Min would be more powerful than General Chen after Tu Qin Min became the next emperor’s grandfather.

‘General Chen although you and your family have contributed to founding and protecting the Northern Empire but your wife is Fang Mu Chu’s daughter,’ Tu Qing Mu said. ‘Your wife is a threat to the survival of the Northern Empire.’

‘Yes my wife is Fang Mu Chu’s daughter,’ Chen Quan Ran said calmly. ‘What do you want to do about it?’

Chen Quan Ran looked resentfully at the court officials and the emperor. Then he looked lovingly at Mo Lan.

‘My wife lost her mother at a young age,’ Chen Quan Ran. ‘She married me at the age of nine. For ten years she hasn’t committed any wrong against the Chen Household and the Northern Empire. If it wasn’t for my wife’s wisdom then Southern Yue would have possessed Cai Ning and invaded the Northern Empire. Look at yourselves, because of a pair of earrings you accuse my wife of being a Southern Yue spy and used it as an excuse to sentence the Chen Household to death.’

Chen Quan Ran pointed accusingly at each of the court officials.

‘That day why didn’t any of you ask your daughters to stand up against Southern Yue?’ Chen Quan Ran asked. ‘Yet today all of you gang up together to bully a weak woman.’

Everyone felt threatened by Chen Quan Ran’s sternness and they couldn’t refute the truth.

The emperor didn’t say anything but his heart praised Chen Quan Ran for standing up against a group of worms that only know how to eat and wait for death.

‘Official Tu, do you know what my priority after I returned to the imperial city was?’ Chen Quan Ran asked. ‘To return justice to your nephew’s victims.’

Mo Lan thought her husband was fearless against causing havoc. Her husband was rubbing salt onto Tu Qing Min’s wound. After she heard the conviction in her husband’s words she realised there was no reason for her to fear being a liability for the Chen Household.

Tu Qing Min was angered by Chen Quan Ran’s flaunting his nephew’s death but he didn’t show his anger in front of the court officials and the emperor.

‘General Chen, you don’t need to use a vicious tone to speak,’ Tu Qing Min said. ‘I’m not interrogating your wife to take revenge on you. This is an official interrogation. Keeping an enemy spy in the imperial city is a serious offence.’

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Chapter Ten (Part 2)

‘General Chen, you know the clearest about the ongoing tensions between the Northern Empire and Southern Yue,’ Tu Qing Min said.

Tu Qing Min glanced coldly at Mo Lan.

‘General Chen it is true your wife’s wisdom is infamous,’ Tu Qing Min said. ‘But what happens when the Northern Empire and Southern Yue are at war with each other? I fear General Chen’s conflict of interest will affect your ability to protect the Northern Empire and put all our lives at risk.’

Tu Qing Min’s words were reasonable and made Tu Qing Min appear like a patriotic citizen. But Tu Qing Min’s words infuriated Chen Quan Ran, he couldn’t tolerate Tu Qing Min implicating his wife as the catalyst for Southern Yue to invade the Northern Empire. He wanted to behead Tu Qing Min, cut Tu Qing Min into pieces to feed dogs.

An imperial guard rushed into the room while Chen Quan Ran was contemplating murderous thoughts.

‘Your majesty… General Fang is here to see you,’ the imperial guards said.

Everyone was surprised Fang Mu Chu would return to the imperial city after his recent visit.

Fang Mu Chu’s second visit was peaceful so he only brought two personal guards to the imperial city.

Fang Mu Chu’s intimidating aura frightened the court officials especially Tu Qing Min who dared to interrogate Fang Mu Chu’s daughter.

Fang Mu Chu dismissed the court official’s presence. He bowed to the emperor, stood and his complex eyes looked at Mo Lan.

Fang Mu Chu stepped toward Mo Lan.

‘Can I… see your earrings?’ Fang Mu Chu asked.

The first time Mo Lan met Fang Mu Chu she thought she was meeting an enemy general. But their second meeting was acknowledgement of their father and daughter bond. She couldn’t control her composure while her father stood in front of her. She felt a connection with her father before she knew they were related by blood. Her connection with her father was stronger after she knew the truth about her birth.

Mo Lan took off her earrings and she pa.s.sed it to her father.

Chen Quan Ran stood protectively next to Mo Lan while Fang Mu Chu inspected Mo Lan’s earrings.

‘Indeed you’re Xiao Sheng’s daughter,’ Fang Mu Chu said in a shaky voice.

Fang Mu Chu thought Mo Lan had Xiao Sheng’s eyes and his lips. His hands clutched the earrings like he wanted the earrings to blend into his flesh.

Mo Lan and Chen Quan Ran exchanged a look with each other while the court officials didn’t know what to do about the father and daughter reunion between General Fang and Mo Lan. Only the emperor stayed calm like even if the emperor lost the kingdom it wouldn’t have affected the emperor’s calmness.

‘Your majesty, I pledge as long as I’m alive I promise Southern Yue will never invade the Northern Empire,’ Fang Mu Chu said.

Fang Mu Chu pulled out a treaty and he pa.s.sed it to the emperor’s personal eunuch.

The eunuch gave the treaty to the emperor. The emperor read the treaty, ‘Southern Yue promises to treat the Northern Empire as a brother kingdom and wants to maintain a peaceful bond with the Northern Empire.’

The emperor was happy to have a peaceful resolution between his kingdom and Southern Yue.

‘But… I have a request I hope your majesty will grant,’ Fang Mu Chu said.

‘General Fang, what is your request?’ the emperor asked.

Fang Mu Chu pointed a condemning finger at Tu Qing Min.

‘I want him beheaded!’ Fang Mu Chu said.

Everyone was as startled as Tu Qing Min.

‘You… you dare to stand here and demand a Northern Empire’s court official’s head?’ Tu Qing Min asked in a panicked tone.

Fang Mu Chu laughed coldly. ‘Earlier I heard your strong sense of patriotism. Aren’t you willing to sacrifice your life for peace in the Northern Empire?’

‘Your majesty… I beg of you not grant his outrageous request,’ Tu Qing Min said.

The emperor rubbed his chin to appear he was in deep consideration. ‘It is good news General Fang came here to offer a treaty… but official Tu… wasn’t it you who stood in front of me and talked about your willingness to sacrifice your life for the sake of the Northern Empire? You’ve tied my hands.’

Chen Quan Ran realised the emperor had schemed to behead Tu Qing Min from the start. He knew the emperor used someone else’s dagger to earn the kingdom’s respect.

Chen Quan Ran and the emperor exchanged a secret glance at each other.

Chen Quan Ran supressed his anger. His heart cursed the MF emperor. Why didn’t the emperor confide the scheme to him? The emperor caused him to shed a lot of hair from worrying about how to save his wife’s life.

Even the court officials finally understood it was the emperor’s scheme to behead Tu Qing Min from the start. They quickly lowered their heads out of fear Fang Mu Chu would also demand their heads for not defending Fang Mu Chu’s daughter’s integrity.

After the emperor accepted Fang Mu Chu’s treaty, Fang Mu Chu and Mo Lan dripped their blood drops into a bowl of water. Indeed Fang Mu Chu and Mo Lan’s blood drops mixed and they officially acknowledged their father and daughter bond.

It was Madam who told Mo Lan that her mother was the Northern Empire’s Princess Long Xue Sheng.

Princess Long Xue Sheng was a mischievous princess. The same year Mo Lan was born, Princess Long Xue Sheng sneaked out of the palace and she was captured by bandits. A gentleman rescued Princess Long Xue Sheng. She thought the gentleman was a citizen of the Northern Empire. But the gentleman was Fang Mu Chu who visited the imperial city on a secret mission. Princess Long Xue Sheng and Fang Mu Chu deeply loved each other before knowing each other’s ident.i.ty. Fang Mu Chu gave his mother’s family heirloom, the earrings with the same design as his jade pendant to Princess Long Xue Sheng as a love token and a promise to marry her. But the timing of their love was ill fated. That year the Northern Empire and Southern Yue were battling each other to conquer neighbouring territories. Fang Mu Chu was born into a military family and he was forced to leave Princess Long Xue to fight against her kingdom.

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Chapter Ten (Part 3 of 3)

Fang Mu Chu regretted choosing Southern Yue over Princess Long Xue Sheng.

Fang Mu Chu remembered the last day he spent with Princess Long Xue Sheng.

‘Mu Chu will you give up Southern Yue for me?’ Princess Long Xue Sheng asked.

‘No,’ Fang Mu Chu said.

The following day Princess Long Xue Sheng disappeared from Fang Mu Chu’s life. He searched everywhere for Long Princess Xue Sheng but he didn’t get to even glance at her ever again.

Princess Long Xue Sheng didn’t return to the palace. She was an unwed pregnant woman. If she returned to the palace then Mo Lan would have been killed. She struggled to stay alive to give birth to Mo Lan during the war. She asked the senior General Chen to raise Mo Lan but she didn’t reveal the ident.i.ty of Mo Lan’s father because she didn’t want to endanger Mo Lan’s life.

Fang Mu Chu wished he had chosen love over duty. If he did then Princess Long Xue Sheng would still be alive and they could have raised their daughter together.