Chapter 106: Forced Marriage (1/2)
Luosang City, in the bathroom at Tie Shou’s Workshop.
Qin Yu sat in a large wooden tub filled with warm water. He was leaning against the side of the tub and enjoying the rare comfort with a handkerchief laid over his face.
Suddenly, he felt a short, sharp pain shoot through his heart and he immediately sat up. The water in the tub was displaced by his sudden movement, causing a loud splash. However, that stabbing pain was gone almost as soon as it came, and all returned to normal as if it had never been there.
“What was that about?” There was confusion on Qin Yu’s face as his hand rose to touch his chest. The pain seemed to return, but not as sharply as before; now it was only a faint stab.
What on earth could have happened? Was someone in trouble?
He felt a terrible sense of foreboding. It was a pity that he wasn’t an all-knowing god. There was no way he could have divined that his parents were in trouble and needed his rescue.
It was right at this moment that a creaking noise interrupted his thoughts. Someone pushed the doors open and entered the room.
It was Tie Shou. He brought Qin Yu a set of clean clothes.
“Young Master Qin, is there enough water? If there isn’t, I can get someone to add more.” Tie Shou said rather politely. If any outsider had been there to see the illustrious Master Tie Shou waiting upon this young man as he bathed, their jaws might just drop to the floor from shock.
Qin Yu gathered his wits and turned around to smile at Tie Shou, “I do have enough water so there’s no need to trouble yourself. Also, Master Tie, it’ll be better if you just call me Qin Yu. I’m no longer a young master of the Qin Family.”
“Mmhmm, alright then,” Tie Shou chuckled as he walked over and placed the clothes on a clothes stand next to the tub. “The set of clean clothes I’ve prepared for you will be right here.”
“Yes, thank you.” Qin Yu gave his thanks and casually asked, “Master, is Little Yue alright?” More than a year had passed, and he wanted to know how Murong Yue was doing.
When Murong Yue was mentioned, Tie Shou paused for a moment before forcing out a pained smile. “She’s… not doing very well.”
“What’s happened?” Qin Yu asked hurriedly once he recovered from the surprise.
Tie Shou heaved a long sigh, and his elderly face seemed to age visibly before Qin Yu’s eyes, “Up until half a year ago, the Princess often came to Luosang City in search of your news. Now,she can no longer come...”
“Why can’t she come anymore? Hey, Master Tie, why don’t you just spill everything out all at once? Don’t keep me in suspense!” Qin Yu said rather unhappily.
Tie Shou sighed once again, “The princess is being confined to her chambers.”
“What, confined?” Qin Yu was startled, “But she’s a princess. Who would dare to do that to her?”
“The Martial Examination a year ago caused the common people to seethe with anger and damaged their trust in their emperor. Taking advantage of this situation, a group of people with nefarious intentions went around stirring up negative emotion, tempting multiple parties into taking advantage of the chaos.” Tie Shou did not answer Qin Yu’s question directly. Instead, he continued describing the situation slowly, “At times like these, the Emperor ought to step up to suppress the various powers with a show of strength. But regretfully, he was unable to do anything. It was then that another person stepped forward and took control with an iron fist. The various parties cowered in the face of his power.”
At this point in the story, Qin Yu was beginning to sense the direction that the story was heading toward, “If I’m not wrong, this person is most likely Prince Qi, Mu Tian Qi, isn’t it?”
Tie Shou nodded. “That’s right. His popularity and prestige have risen above that of the Emperor’s, and he is the one truly in charge in Qiongxi now. The Emperor has been relegated to the role of a mere puppet. Ah…”
Tie Shou could only sigh helplessly. Although he was loyal to his ruler, with his current ability, there was nothing he could do.
“Right now, every random citizen in the streets of Qiongxi knows that the next Emperor will be Prince Qi for sure. As soon as the current ruler passes away, he will successfully ascend to the throne.”
Qin Yu twitched his nose and snorted disdainfully, “At this point, why is Prince Qi still bothering to pretend. Why not just have the current emperor thrown out and take the throne for himself. That’ll be the end of it right?”
Tie Shou shook his head and replied, “No. He still has to keep appearances up when it is needed. The struggle for power within the royal palace has always been a subtle dance in the light and shadows. If he directly unseats the Emperor, he will be accused of conspiring to usurp the throne. But if he waits till after the Emperor has died, he can either force his successor to write an abdication decree or forge a posthumous edict. This way, he can sit on the throne through legitimate means and seal the wagging tongues of his people. There is a significant difference between these two courses of action.”
“And besides, the emperor is already gravely ill and can hang on to life for another three months at most. It’s a mere three months. Mu Tian Qi can afford to wait.”
“Whew…” Qin Yu let out a breath and said with scorn, “So this is what the power struggle in the royal palace is like. How hypocritical.”
“Qin Yu, I fear you are the only one who can save the princess and Qiongxi,” said Tie Shou as he stared intensely at Qin Yu with eyes full of hope.
Qin Yu shook his head, “Naturally, I will go and save Little Yue. However, I don’t have the ability to save Qiongxi, and even if I did, I have no interest in its affairs.”
“You mustn’t say that.” Tie Shou sobered suddenly, “Mu Tian Qi intends to usurp the throne and he is sure to bring chaos to the current order in the imperial court. It is the duty of all the people, both officials and commoners, to bring down a traitor to the kingdom like him.” As he spoke, he grew more and more agitated. His loyalty to the ruling emperor was clearly deep-seated.
“A criminal such as himself ascending to the throne would mean the end of Qiongxi, the people of Qiongxi would be doomed, and even all you martial artists will be severely affected.”
“Qin Yu, the others may not understand but you must know that the Slaughter Array was a sinister scheme masterminded by Mu Tian Qi. He wants all of the young martial cultivators dead. If it weren’t for heaven’s blessings, I fear that all of you might have already suffered premature deaths at the hands of that vicious man.”
Tie Shou’s last statement was certainly true. Mu Tian Qi had been so cruel and merciless to all the martial cultivators, that even now, Qin Yu still remembered it with displeasure.
“Of course, if Mu Tian Qi were to be in the position of absolute power, the Princess would be stuck in a grim situation. As the remaining member of the previous dynasty’s royal family, and as the person who has always opposed Mu Tian Qi, two possible fates await her. The first would be a slow and painful public execution. The second would be to exile her to the borders as a plaything for the thirsty soldiers there. Can you bear to see her suffer either of such horrific ends?”
Qin Yu said nothing as he listened quietly. He did not need to, for Murong Yue’s situation was not one he could ignore.
“Qin Yu, I learned from the Princess that you have the authority to command the Divine Army of a hundred thousand soldiers stationed within the forbidden grounds of Ten Thousand Beast Mountain. With these soldiers, you can lead a direct attack on the capital, save the Princess, chase Mu Tian Qi away, and restore the royal family to its former glory.”
As Tie Shou’s excitement grew, a fire seemed to ignite and burn fiercely within his pupils. He waited for Qin Yu’s answer.
A hundred thousand Divine Soldiers. If it weren’t for Tie Shou’s timely reminder, Qin Yu might have completely forgotten about this particular resource. Although, right at this moment, he was thinking of using them for the extermination of the Qin Family rather than charging into the capital.