Ink Burns

Chapter 311 Mission
With a mother's hatred, blood debts, and children involved, Xue Xiao had to calculate and fight back even if it meant disobeying the emperor's orders. Emperor Yongping valued his reputation, and if he aroused public anger, the emperor would definitely respond. If he had to respond, he would have to explain the matter clearly.

So, can Jing'an still retain all those posthumous honors?
So many people are suffering in the afterlife, why should the culprit be buried with a good reputation?!
Xue Xiao lowered his eyes slightly, his long, straight eyelashes casting a fan-shaped shadow beneath his eyelids, blocking out all the emotions he could not control.

For twelve years, he served as Emperor Yongping's henchman, killing those who deserved it and those who didn't, without hesitation, as long as it involved imperial power: in the struggle for power, it's always a matter of life and death, and hesitation only gives the other side time to kill you. If you want to make a living this way, you have to risk your life, and the knife will be drawn red. Be a gambler, once you've chosen the banker, bet everything, and don't think about changing your mind halfway or leaving yourself a way out. He was a proper scholar who passed the imperial examinations, but he chose to go all the way down this path, becoming a loyal minister with no way out, and he didn't ask for much.

To clear my uncle's family's name and complete their revenge is my lifelong personal wish, and this is one of my goals.
To restore order in the imperial court, to carry on the legacy of the founding emperor, to abolish the hereditary system of aristocratic families, to break down class barriers, to benefit the people, and to bring clarity to the world—this was a man of great ambition and vision, a truly remarkable achievement.
Now there's one more thing: anyone who dares to touch Shanyue and that troublesome sister-in-law will be fucking dead.

The three bottom lines are clearly defined.

Above the bottom line, Xue Xiao doesn't care about color—black, white, gray, yellow, green—any color that looks good is fine. Below the bottom line, Xue Xiao only recognizes two colors: black and white.

If it works, it works; if it doesn't, it doesn't. If someone says it doesn't work, then the cabinet and Emperor Yongping will have to prove themselves through their scheming and tactics!

Xue Xiao awaited the emperor's answer.

After a moment of contemplation, Emperor Yongping stood up, his tall and slender figure circling around the wide, flat table, his knuckles tapping the surface with a rhythmic but very light sound.

When the noise stopped, Emperor Yongping said, "Each of the affected children will receive two hundred taels of silver, twelve bolts of silk, seven bolts of brocade, and thirty bolts of gauze as relief. All expenditures will be drawn from the imperial treasury."

This can be considered as the royal family acknowledging this blood debt.

Emperor Yongping paused for a moment: "As for Jing'an..."

Emperor Yongping brushed away non-existent dust from the table and summoned Wu Min to issue an edict: "Order the Prefect of the Capital to work with the Court of Judicial Review to thoroughly investigate the case of the child's remains. Also, order the Imperial Clan Court to select a new burial site, and to rewrite and remake the tombstone and inscription. The Grand Princess's residence will be sealed off instead of surrounded. Her second son, Fu Mingbo, will be temporarily detained inside the residence and will not be allowed to enter or leave easily—"

Since we're going to do it, there's no need to gloss over the truth.

At least in the historian's pen, they can still earn another reputation for "putting righteousness before family" and "uprightness in broad daylight".

Emperor Yongping tapped his knuckles on the table, increasing the pressure slightly, as a concluding remark.

Xue Xiao gently raised his head and kowtowed to express his gratitude to Heaven.

“His book.” Emperor Yongping called out to Xue Xiao.

Xue Xiao stopped.

Emperor Yongping's eyes were dim, making it impossible to discern his exact intentions: "I had already invited you and your siblings to a small gathering at the Dongshan Villa during the New Year, but now I'm afraid there are other important matters to be entrusted to you, so the trip needs to be postponed."

Xue Xiao bowed and accepted the order.

"You need to reorganize your manpower, form a team of ten, and after the Lantern Festival, disguise yourselves and head to Shanhaiguan to ambush and assassinate three people."

Emperor Yongping spoke in a very low voice. The old red rope binding his waist had a jade pendant with a fine jadeite carving of a mythical beast hanging from it. When he moved, the jadeite clattered against the side of the table.

Xue Xiao did not hesitate at all: "What are the appearances, names, characteristics, origins, and destinations of the three people?"

Emperor Yongping's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he pursed his lips: "The three should be dressed as commoners, coming from outside Shanhaiguan in a carriage. Perhaps they have merchant's travel documents, or perhaps they have a referral document from their village for seeking medical treatment. The documents are uncertain. They should be two women and one man, all over forty years old. One of the men and one of the women should be siblings, and the other woman is an old servant. As for their names, I only know that the siblings' surname is Cai, and everyone calls the sister 'Seventh Sister' and the brother 'Cai Second'."

All the statements use vague terms like "should" or "or".

This proves that even the emperor was afraid of alerting the enemy, and only dared to grasp very superficial information.

What does it mean that the three people, commoners, one man and two women, middle-aged, came from outside Shanhaiguan?
A knife cannot be questioned; it can only be drawn, draw blood, sheathed, and returned to its original purpose.

Although this information is vague and fragmented, it is enough when put together.

Xue Xiao nodded calmly: "Your Majesty, I will immediately organize the team members, selecting five from Tianbao Temple and five from Xishan Camp. We will set off immediately in fifteen days."

Since the emperor did not appoint him as the leader, someone he knew well was needed to take the lead.

Xue Xiao suggested, "Your Majesty, would it be acceptable for Xiao Po to lead the team?"

The core members of the previous batch of Tianbao Temple, such as Fan Yi and Xiong Laowu, have all gone to Jiangnan to fill the vacancies. The next batch has just been selected and is currently undergoing training in the Xishan Camp. If you think about it carefully, there are not many people in the capital who can take on this role. These ten people are almost all trusted brothers who have accompanied us all the way.

Emperor Yongping nodded slightly.

Xue Xiao stood up to take his leave, but was called back as soon as he lifted his foot.

"His book—"

Emperor Yongping's voice was noticeably more hesitant. Xue Xiao stopped in his tracks.

"You should lead the team yourself."

Emperor Yongping spoke in a very soft and slow voice: "We must spare no expense on this mission. We can only win, not lose. Our movements must be extremely well concealed. After we succeed, we will select someone who looks similar to these three and have them follow their travel guide along the same route. There must be no delays."

Xue Xiao bowed again: "Yes."

As Xue Xiao emerged from Linde Hall, he encountered a familiar-looking eunuch holding a red lacquered alms box in both hands. The box was decorated with a pattern of mythical beasts. The eunuch stood to one side and bowed to Xue Xiao as he came out, saying, "Greetings, Commandant Xue."

Xue Xiao glanced sideways and nodded: "At the end of the year, the capital is cold. Is Her Majesty the Empress Dowager well these days?"

This chief eunuch was a close confidant of Empress Dowager Fang.

Xue Xiao was always aloof and solitary, so his initiative to strike up a conversation with the chief eunuch made the eunuch feel flattered.

The chief eunuch got excited and started talking a lot.

"In this prosperous and peaceful era, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is naturally in high spirits. In addition, since His Highness Prince Yong returned to the capital from Lingnan a few months ago, he has often brought the Princess to serve her, which makes Her Majesty even more happy and joyful."

The last time I met Prince Yong was to conspire with him to seize the 180,000 taels of silver that Jing'an was sending out of the capital.

In other words, after completing this task, Prince Yong did not leave the capital again.

Prior to this, it was common knowledge that Prince Yong had traveled to Lingnan.

In other words, the news about the "three people" at Shanhaiguan was not brought back by Prince Yong.

Emperor Yongping probably also had spies planted outside Shanhaiguan, just as he had been planted in the capital and Bai Yusi in Jiangnan.

Xue Xiao smiled and nodded, stepping aside. His broad back shielded the eunuch from the cold wind of the corridor. He smiled, his smile softening his usually stern demeanor: "It's a rare sight to see you at Linde Hall."

The most powerful minister of the dynasty, standing on the veranda to shield himself from the wind, would confuse anyone.

The chief eunuch's smile became more sincere as he raised the food box in his hand: "With the New Year approaching, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is thinking of His Majesty and has been visiting frequently these past few days, bringing stewed soup or pastries—and so, she has specially ordered this servant to present His Majesty with freshly made New Year cakes and freshly ground soybean flour."

Seeing that Emperor Yongping was gradually regaining power, Empress Dowager Fang panicked and hurriedly tried to please her youngest son, with whom she had always had little affection.
Xue Xiao chuckled to himself, exchanged a few more words of laughter, and then stepped outside. He returned to the South Mansion and entered the West Wing. Shan Yue stood with her back to the curtain, painting with her hand suspended.

Xue Xiao peeked out.

The painting depicts a large black dog named Zhui Feng under an old locust tree in the courtyard, with her only puppy, Xiao Hei, who was born a couple of days ago. The mother dog is turning around and licking her fur, while the puppy is bleary-eyed, raising its head and howling. The atmosphere is warm and cozy.

Xue Xiao suddenly spoke up, bringing up the old matter again: "Why were you so sure that Liu Bozhu's birth mother wouldn't leave the capital?"

Why bring this up again?
Shan Yue found it strange, but still put down her pen, wiping her hands as she replied, "How can a mother let her own daughter die unjustly? She must seek justice."

As for the father, he ran very fast.

Just like the father of the puppy, Xiao Hei.

Two days ago, the big black dog Zhui Feng returned from patrol and suddenly refused to leave the main courtyard. It kept rubbing against Shan Yue, being very clingy and impossible for anyone to take away.

The big black dog had been kept in Tianbao Temple for many years, but now that it had finally been free, Wang Erniang, Steward Zhi, and Qiu Tao in the main courtyard all adored it. So, Su Mama simply told Jifeng to go back alone and secretly cook him a big bone soup as a special treat.

Before they even finished the bone broth, the big black dog gave birth to a puppy with a "thump"!

Apart from the tuft of yellow hair on the cub's belly, there was no trace of the biological father's existence. Jifeng and the others were so angry that they were like fathers-in-law whose cabbages had been eaten by pigs. They grabbed their knives and were about to go out to settle accounts with the yellow-haired dog, but there were too many yellow-haired dogs for the fathers-in-law to kill, so they had to return empty-handed.

Fathers always have an advantage: they can get a newborn child with just a short effort, unlike mothers who cherish the next generation as much.

"So, it's hard to find a mother who doesn't love her child?" Xue Xiao asked. His own mother died young, so he had no right to comment on this.

After a moment of stunned silence, Shan Yue hesitated and nodded: "It's all love, isn't it? It's just that it's hard to treat everyone equally. If you have many siblings, it's inevitable that you'll show favoritism."

"Even if there's not much water, you shouldn't refuse to give it to us?" Xue Xiao asked again.

Shan Yue confirmed this and nodded.

Xue Xiao slowly raised his head, lowered his voice, but a glint of light flashed in his eyes: "When the emperor was young, the empress dowager allowed the palace servants to mistreat him, leaving him hungry and cold. It seems that she deliberately mistreated him. Is this something my mother would do?"