86 A Farce (1/2)
On the same night, Old Marshal Qiu Jianhan was browsing through the military news in his residence. It was temporarily peaceful. The Empire of Yutang finally had its days of peace as things were rested and calm.
The old marshal felt light-hearted as well.
He even had the mood to order the kitchen to make a few side dishes and drank alone.
However, before he could drink as he raised his goblet with a smile, a long cry tore through the air suddenly as a stern voice bellowed, “You have gone too far!”
A white light then shot down from the sky. A concussive boom cracked the air before all traces were gone. The person had entirely disappeared before anyone from the marshal’s residence could run out. A ball of flame suddenly ignited in one of the side rooms; the fire soared high as thick smoke began to roil upwards.
“Put out the fire!”
“Bring in the water!”
The residence was in chaos. In an instant, hundreds of guards crowded the front of the foyer as military experts filled the rooftop. The area within thousands of feet around the old marshal was guarded heavily in the blink of an eye!
“Everybody retreat!”
The old marshal stood by the foyer entrance, his muscular form trembling lightly. His eyes watched the room that caught fire strangely while his lips quivered faintly.
A saber was in his hand!
Blood was on the saber’s blade.
“What has happened?”
Everyone in the residence was on their guard, even the old mistress had made an uncommon appearance.
“Nothing!”
Qiu Jianhan’s face relaxed. “It’s just a secret letter that needs to be handled urgently.”
As he spoke, he turned right away heading to the study room without looking at anyone.
His pace was brisk, the old marshal was very agitated.
There was a symbol of nine encircling stars on the letter. Nine Heavens Dictum!
On it were a few words – “To be read personally by Old Marshal Qiu.”
Old Marshal Qiu understood the meaning behind these words well. No other person should be seeing it. Therefore, he had gone to the study room immediately and locked himself inside.
This was a red colored package… red like a ball of flame.
Old Marshal Qiu exhaled before he opened it with trembling hands. Without surprise, there was a letter inside. It was only one thin sheet of paper within the envelope.
Qiu Jianhan’s face fell when he read the first line.
It was without courtesy – “Why does the Board of War harass me?”
The old marshal could feel the flaring murderous intent within the words right away.
It was a boiling wave of rage.
He read on, almost holding his breath. The more he read, the more his eyes widened. Suddenly, he shouted, “This is terribly infuriating!”
He glared hard, a palm landing harshly on the table.
The sturdy table cracked and split at his heavy strike.
“Cirrus House’s Zuiyue belongs to the heart of Supreme Flame. What is the intention behind the people from the Board of War’s Heroic Duo of Saber and Sword’s residence persuading her to marry others? What position am I, Supreme Flame lord, placed at when Old Mistress Ding made her personal appearance? If old marshal is interested, why not find another spouse for His Majesty’s empress? Why humiliate the family of Nine Supremes?”
“Nation-guarding general’s residence as the matchmaker, marshal’s residence as the guardian, crown prince’s residence as persuasion, Plethora Gem Tower as a set up; Such humiliation had been sworn not to be accepted under Nine Heavens Dictum! This justice shall be granted at the price of lives!”
“This has gone too far, it is absolutely absurd!”
The wordings in this letter were harsh, the grudge within deep, terrifying to any reader!
It had even said “If old marshal is interested, why not find another spouse for His Majesty’s empress? Why humiliate the family of the Nine Supremes?”.
Obviously, the other party was beyond infuriated. The old marshal was enraged to the point of almost spitting blood before he could finish reading the letter.
It was not because of the harsh tone employed in the letter but from the shameful matter that happened within his own residence! The humiliation could last for millennia.
Qiu Jianhan could feel his face burning.
Even if he was beaten violently to near-death, it was still better than this feeling right now. He loathed the act of harassing the warriors’ families the most, but who would have thought that his home was one of the perpetrators now?
Recalling the Nine Heavens Dictum that had informed him by setting a room on fire, they must be extremely enraged to be using such an extreme method.
Thinking of the war, Supreme Flame had obviously made his move…
Was there still a need then to guess who it was who had ignited his room?
The old marshal had even felt that they were already being lenient. Your father has just ended the war for all of you and you’re forcing your father’s woman to marry someone else? What is this bullsh*t?
…
The old mistress was immensely worried. The residence had suddenly caught on fire. While the fire was not serious and had only burned one room, the intention within was terrifying enough. A sense of utter danger gnawed at her heart.
Who in the world dared to set fire directly to the marshal’s residence?
Worried as she was, she heard the maids outside exclaim in surprise before an angry roar followed. “Out of my way!” With the sound of a slap, she then saw her husband charging in enraged.
“What good deed did you do?” He hollered furiously.
The old mistress was shocked before she got angry as well. “What is it? Are you crazy?”