TGPSAC – Chapter 79

Where was Qiantang? Yu Jiuzhou thought for a long time but could not recall any such place in Great Zhou. Not only in Great Zhou, but there was no place called Qiantang among the foreign tribes either.

She couldn’t help but wonder what was meant by “beyond the heavens, beyond the earth.”

Yu Jiuzhou watched Chi Wan’s back. The raging fire outside illuminated the room, making the situation inside clearly visible.

At that moment, Chi Wan held her spear in her right hand, advancing step by step. In the firelight, she exuded an aura of profound security.

Her eyes were fixed on the two assassins before her. Two assassins with profound internal energy stood there. Though the black-clad figures were masked, their builds and the feeling they gave off were very familiar.

The Left and Right Guardians of Xuanyang Temple?

Chi Wan raised her spear, pointing its tip at them in a battle-ready stance.

The two assassins wasted no time and charged straight over. They wielded different weapons—one had iron chopsticks, the other a pair of mandarin duck blades.

The iron chopsticks were attached to a chain, allowing them to be thrown out and retracted at will. The paired mandarin duck blades were easily concealed and vicious weapons.

Their main purpose was to achieve the element of surprise.

But Chi Wan’s spear was long enough that they couldn’t get close for the time being.

Against two assassins with profound internal energy, she would surely be at a disadvantage if this dragged on. Fortunately, her recent experience fighting twenty people at once had given her decent practical skills. Relying on the advantage of her weapon’s length, she could still hold them off.

Tangled up with these two, escaping alone would be easy, but bringing Yu Jiuzhou along was impossible. She had to deal with the two in front of her, and it had to be fast.

Chi Wan swept her spear horizontally, creating distance between them, and fired her last few sleeve arrows. As expected, they were blocked. She immediately dropped into a split and launched a sweeping attack at their lower bodies.

As the assassins dodged, she followed up with a series of straight thrusts, then rose and leaped into the air. With her back to them, she flicked the shaft of her spear back, striking one of them squarely in the face.

It must have hit his nose; the physiological shock would surely make his eyes water uncontrollably.

Without pausing, Chi Wan suddenly extended her spear. With a twist and a click, she executed a momentum-breaking spear thrust, forcing the other person back and making him hastily dodge her weapon.

Because the spear had lengthened, her opponent failed to dodge in time. His black clothes were torn, revealing the monk’s robe underneath. It was indeed the Left and Right Guardians.

Chi Wan didn’t stop. Within three seconds of repelling this man, just as the other was overcoming his physiological distress, she drew her firearm, aimed, and fired, all in one smooth motion.

“Watch out!” the one she had pushed back shouted, but it was too late.

The man raised his paired mandarin duck blades to block, but they were no match for a firearm. Besides, Chi Wan had feinted; she had aimed for his head, but the moment he raised his hands, she lowered hers and shot him in the chest.

Within ten meters, a gun is fastest. The distance between them was just over three meters.

Seeing his companion fall, the assassin with the iron chopsticks immediately tried to flee. In this situation, he couldn’t complete the mission alone; escape was his only option.

Chi Wan leaped in pursuit, thrusting her spear repeatedly while shouting to those behind her, “Save the assassin.”

A living witness had to be kept. A shot to the chest wasn’t a shot to the heart; he could still live for a while.

With that, she hurled the spear in her hands at the fleeing man. The spear flew swiftly, slightly faster than the escaping assassin.

Sensing the danger behind him, the man hastily dodged. The spear embedded itself in the ground right in front of him, nearly impaling him.

In dodging, he naturally could no longer continue his escape. Chi Wan seized the opportunity to leap forward, drawing the dual blades from her waist.

With a blade in each hand, Chi Wan closed in on the assassin, only to be met by his iron chopsticks.

The chopsticks were incredibly fast, difficult for an ordinary person to react to. Being hit by them was no different from being shot.

She held a blade horizontally before her. The iron chopsticks struck the blade with a dull thud rather than a crisp clang.

Chi Wan’s other blade swung out, striking the chopsticks. They were knocked away, but the chain was still in her opponent’s hand; he could retrieve them even if they were dislodged.

She pushed off with her feet, using the force to spring forward, and attacked with both blades, making it impossible for him to block one without being hit by the other.

Suddenly, she felt a chill at her waist. She immediately arched her back into a backflip, dodging a hidden projectile.

There were three assassins in total. Two were masters with profound internal energy, but the third had vanished ever since Chi Wan entered the fray.

She hadn’t forgotten about this person; she had been on guard the entire time.

As expected, he had made his move. The moment she pinpointed his location, she threw both her blades, took a step forward to pull her spear from the floorboards, and, with the long weapon back in hand, swung it in a sweeping slash that left the assassin nowhere to dodge.

The next second, the spear pierced the assassin’s shoulder, but his chopsticks came straight for her face.

At this moment, she could only dodge. As she retracted her spear to evade, the assassin quickly fled the scene.

This time, Chi Wan did not give chase. She couldn’t stray too far from Yu Jiuzhou, in case it was a ploy to lure the tiger from the mountain.

She had only managed to gain an advantage against two assassins of profound internal energy because of the element of surprise from her firearm. Without it, she couldn’t have handled two opponents of the same caliber.

The assassin with the iron chopsticks was injured, which was another reason he was so eager to flee.

But why flee? Was he afraid of something?

Chi Wan turned back to look at the assassin who had ambushed her. Her blades had pierced both his arms, pinning him to the wall.

She turned her head and asked, “Is the great monk alright?”

The secret guards had already seen the assassin’s face; it was the Right Guardian of Xuanyang Temple. That meant the one who escaped was the Left Guardian.

“Fuma, this person needs immediate medical attention.”

Chi Wan smiled and turned to the assassin before her. He stared at her in terror, unable to break free from the two blades holding him.

She plunged her spear directly into the assassin’s upper arm. After hearing his scream of pain, she removed her two blades, returned them to their sheaths, and asked, “This Fuma would like to know, who knows more—you, or him?”

The assassin gritted his teeth and turned his face away, refusing to speak.

Chi Wan laughed. “Only one of you two can live. Of course, this Fuma knows that you assassins aren’t afraid of death. But before you die, this Fuma has plenty of ways to torture you.”

She produced a silver needle and, without hesitation, inserted it into the assassin’s body. At first, he felt nothing, but soon it felt as if ants were crawling all over him.

Chi Wan’s eyes grew cold. “Do you feel it? This Fuma can make you feel like you’re being devoured by thousands of ants. I will certainly give you a taste of a fate worse than death. But don’t think I’ll let you off that easily. I will only cripple your limbs, cut out your tongue, hide you away, and then slit your wrists.”

“Of course, I’ll only cut a little, so you can clearly feel the blood draining from your body, bit by bit. It might take three days and three nights, or maybe five. It all depends on how much blood you have.”

“Oh, and while you’re bleeding out, you’ll still feel the sensation of ants biting you. It’ll be very comfortable.”

She spoke with a beaming smile, causing everyone who heard her to shiver. An Shi was stunned. She remembered recording the Fuma’s visit to the Autumn Water Pavilion. She’d heard the Fuma had found out and claimed she’d been framed.

What if the Fuma found out she was the one who wrote it down and subjected her to this kind of torture? Watching the Fuma describe these methods with a smile was simply too horrifying. Goosebumps broke out all over her skin.

The training for Yu Jiuzhou’s secret guards was different from others. Other secret guards had to crawl out from piles of corpses, killing each other like beasts where only the fittest survived and the losers died.

An Shi and the others were orphans of fallen soldiers; their loyalty was incomparable to that of other secret guards.

But as Yu Jiuzhou watched Chi Wan, who was mischievously and viciously intimidating the assassin like a child playing a prank, she only found it adorable.

When was Chi Wan ever like this? It was quite refreshing.

The assassin: Adorable? You call this demon adorable?

If the assassin knew what Yu Jiuzhou was thinking, he would probably leap to his feet.

Sensing their gazes, Chi Wan glanced back and smiled before turning to the assassin again. “This Fuma will count to three.”

“One… three.”

The assassin: “???” What happened to counting to three?

“I’ll talk… I’ll tell you everything.”

Chi Wan smiled. “This Fuma knows far more than you can imagine. Concealment? Lies? You know the consequences.”

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Chi Wan killed that assassin, and she also killed the Right Guardian of Xuanyang Temple.

The defending Imperial Guard was in steady retreat, and the enemy would soon breach the courtyard. They were about to be trapped.

No wonder the assassin had laughed maniacally before he died. “The entire Xuanyang Temple is surrounded! What does it matter if you know everything? You can’t escape.”

“Prince Bao’an is not like Prince Ying. He just wants you all dead. At worst, he’ll perish along with Xuanyang Temple.”

Chi Wan roughly understood. Most of the attackers today were Prince Ying’s men and foreign tribes, but they didn’t know that Prince Bao’an wanted to kill everyone in one fell swoop.

He would deal a heavy blow to Prince Ying while also killing Yu Jiuzhou—two birds with one stone.

As long as Yu Jiuzhou died and the evidence pointed to Prince Ying, no one would be left to contend with him.

He acted as if he were above worldly struggles, yet his methods were so malicious and cruel.

Meanwhile, at Prince Bao’an’s residence, the prince was flying into a rage. “You are all too bold! That is Xuanyang Temple, a royal temple! The Grand Princess is inside praying for blessings, and you dare to plant explosives?”

“Who gave you the nerve? With you acting like this, this Prince would rather not contend for the throne at all.”

If Yu Jiuzhou didn’t die, they would face the Grand Princess’s retaliation, and they could not withstand her retaliation.

Prince Bao’an’s strategist stepped forward. “Your Highness, this was done by Prince Ying. It has nothing to do with you.”

“Nothing to do with me?” Prince Bao’an sneered. “Don’t you underestimate the Grand Princess.”

His eyes were filled with coldness. “With her, you must either guarantee her death or not act at all if there is even the slightest risk.”

“Your Highness, aren’t you being a bit too cautious?”

“It’s not that I…” Prince Bao’an swallowed the last word. The others didn’t catch his slip in self-address before he continued, “You have never crossed swords with her, so naturally, you do not know.”

A person who could turn the tables even in such a desperate situation was not someone to be trifled with lightly.

The strategist, however, was puzzled. “Your Highness approved this matter. Or did Your Highness listen to someone else? Does Your Highness have other advisors?”

“Insolence.” Prince Bao’an threw a cup at the strategist. “It seems this Prince has been too lenient with you, allowing you to become so lawless.”

The strategist frowned. Prince Bao’an had always been courteous to his subordinates and had never treated them with such an attitude. Even when he disagreed with their plans, he would patiently dissuade them and explain his reasons.

The strategist knew that questioning his lord in court was improper, but the plan was already in motion. It was too late to say anything now; it was better to see it through to the end.

But with his lord enraged, the strategist couldn’t press the issue. He could only kneel and beg for forgiveness. “This subordinate was presumptuous. I ask Your Highness to mete out punishment.”

Usually, when a subordinate asked for punishment over a minor issue, the matter would be dropped. But Prince Bao’an clearly had no intention of doing so.

“Since you know your crime, go and receive thirty strokes of the cane as a warning to others.”

Prince Bao’an stared coldly at the strategist. The strategist was silent for a moment, then accepted the punishment. “This subordinate obeys.”

Someone wanted to plead for him but was stopped by the strategist. He realized something was wrong with the prince; now was not the time to anger him further.

Prince Bao’an watched the strategist go to receive his punishment, and he saw the others who wanted to plead but held back.

He had a dream. In the dream, he cooperated with the Grand Princess and successfully ascended the throne, but all the power was in the hands of the Regent Grand Princess. He wasn’t a puppet, but he was close enough.

Every decision he made required Yu Jiuzhou’s approval. He could do nothing she disagreed with, while she could do whatever she wanted without ever asking for his opinion.

Even if Yu Jiuzhou feigned asking, she would ultimately implement her plans. His opinion didn’t matter that much.

To Yu Jiuzhou, asking him was merely a formality.

Fortunately, he endured for several years and gradually reclaimed some power. Then, the two of them battled with wits and courage. Ten years, it took him nearly ten years to win and eliminate Yu Jiuzhou.

That damnable Marquis of Pingliang had even raised an army in rebellion, forcing him to move the capital south, which ultimately led to a stalemate between the north and south.

But his life was not long. A few years after moving the capital south, he fell gravely ill. After entrusting the empire to a ten-year-old boy, he finally passed away.

How could a ten-year-old boy rule an empire? In just two years, the Marquis of Pingliang broke through the capital, found a child adopted by Yu Jiuzhou, and installed that child as the new emperor of Great Zhou.

His soul watched all of this happen, powerless to stop it.

The dream was too real. Prince Bao’an didn’t think it was a dream; he felt he had been reborn. Heaven had not forsaken him but had allowed him to return.

Although the situation had changed—Prince Zhongshan was dead prematurely, Prince Ying was about to be exposed, and a useless Fuma who should have been powerless had somehow become the Commander of the Imperial City Division, which commanded ten thousand troops.

In certain circumstances, ten thousand men were enough to stage a rebellion.

Historical records told of an emperor being killed in the imperial city by just two thousand guards.

Chi Wan had actually gained control of so much power. Prince Zhongshan had rebelled early, but that was good news. That fellow Chi Wan was easy to deceive, and with that brute Prince Zhongshan dead, he had one less rival.

Prince Ying wouldn’t escape this time either. Prince Bao’an thought that if he could really kill Yu Jiuzhou, the throne would be his for the taking, and he wouldn’t have to suffer years of his imperial power being usurped.

Prince Bao’an’s thoughts were sound, but he didn’t believe Yu Jiuzhou would die so easily. So he commanded, “Guard all entrances to the capital. If you see Yu Jiuzhou or any of her people, eradicate them, root and stem.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The men exchanged glances, not understanding why their prince had suddenly become so ruthless.

To Prince Bao’an, once he sat on the throne, he would be the legitimate ruler, the righteous authority under Heaven. Anyone who coveted imperial power had to die, and any system that restricted imperial power had to be broken. No person and no institution could limit him, the emperor.

But he never considered that without Yu Jiuzhou, he would never have been able to ascend the throne in the first place.

Moreover, right after he became the new emperor, it was Yu Jiuzhou who stabilized the court. Only after the court was stable did she gradually relinquish power, allowing him to smoothly take over and possess imperial authority.

If not for Yu Jiuzhou, the troubles that followed a new emperor’s ascension would have been enough to give Prince Bao’an a massive headache.

If Prince Bao’an wanted to break the deadlock, he would need a wife who could share the burden of governance, like Wu Zetian, and the courage to move the capital, like Emperor Gaozong of Tang.

Moving the capital might seem like an emperor’s whim, but in reality, it was a way to change the political landscape, to prevent power from being concentrated in the hands of his maternal uncles. By moving the capital, he could take obedient officials with him, leave the disobedient ones behind, and form a new, completely loyal administration.

The emperor’s power was obstructed, but wherever the emperor was, that was the center of power. Would important matters be sent to another city instead of the one where the emperor resided?

When the Grand Secretariat of Great Zhou was strong, they reviewed many documents before they ever reached the emperor.

But by moving the capital, with the emperor gone, official documents and memorials would have to be sent directly to him. The emperor would naturally regain power, but it would involve a struggle with others.

As the Regent Grand Princess, Yu Jiuzhou had directly reclaimed all imperial power and then handed it over to the new emperor.

This was her sense of duty to her family and country, yet others saw it as a lust for power.

Without Yu Jiuzhou consolidating power, the authority of the officials would have overwhelmed the authority of the throne. The officials were already trying to curtail or even seize the emperor’s power.

Between the emperor and his ministers, it was always a case of the east wind prevailing over the west wind, or vice versa.

With Yu Jiuzhou playing the villain, Prince Bao’an was able to smoothly take control of imperial power. This was an indisputable fact.

Upon learning that the assassin was sent by Prince Bao’an, Yu Jiuzhou smiled. It seemed that because she hadn’t chosen to cooperate with him in this life, Prince Bao’an had grown anxious.

Chi Wan glanced at her. “Your Highness, you still have the heart to smile? If you don’t reveal your plan soon, we’re all going to die here.”

Yu Jiuzhou had said long ago that she had an escape route. Now, with enemies all around, they could neither fly to the heavens nor burrow into the earth.

The Imperial Guard had lost its fighting capacity, and the few dozen guards outside couldn’t possibly hold back the tide.

But Yu Jiuzhou wasn’t the least bit worried. Instead, she tilted her head, glanced at the situation outside, and said, “Call for Xia Qu.”

“Tell the guards outside to hide. As for the Imperial Guard, tell them that I will keep the promise I made to them.”

Knowing full well the danger of this trip, Yu Jiuzhou had still brought them. Even if a subject must die when their ruler commands it, she couldn’t lead so many people to their deaths.

They deserved to save their own lives.

Then Yu Jiuzhou commanded, “Shi Lun, let’s leave this place.”

Leave? How?

Shi Lun went into the inner room, opened a wardrobe, and felt around inside. A person-sized door appeared.

Shi Lun entered first, followed by two other secret guards. Yu Jiuzhou beckoned to Chi Wan. “Come.”

Chi Wan trotted over and had her hand taken. Blood was still dripping from the blades at her waist and the tip of her spear, carrying a distinct metallic scent.

An Shi took the spear and wiped the blood from its tip with her sleeve.

Her fawning was somewhat unnerving. Chi Wan gave her a strange look.

An Shi chuckled. “I was just afraid the dripping blood would reveal our location.”

That made sense. Chi Wan raised an eyebrow and walked into the secret passage.

Of course. How could a story of political intrigue not have secret tunnels?

The tunnel was wide enough for three people to walk abreast and was about two meters high. This was definitely not something dug in secret.

As if sensing her confusion, Yu Jiuzhou explained, “When Xuanyang Temple was first built, our ancestors left several secret passages within it.”

“Several?” Chi Wan’s eyes widened. This meant there were many ways to leave. No wonder Yu Jiuzhou wasn’t worried at all.

Yu Jiuzhou smiled and squeezed her hand. “This is a royal temple. The emperor comes here every year to pray for blessings. The emperor would not fail to leave himself an escape route.”

She had the construction blueprints for Xuanyang Temple, something only an emperor could inherit. In her past life, because her split with Prince Bao’an happened so quickly, she never had the chance to hand over the blueprints.

She had committed the contents of the blueprints to memory. In this life, the emperor had not yet given them to her, but she came to Xuanyang Temple every year and was naturally familiar with it.

Chi Wan suddenly thought of something. “Your Highness, I noticed that a portion of the Imperial Guard suddenly disappeared. Are they?”

“They are all hidden in the secret passages.”

No wonder the two thousand Imperial Guards were defeated so quickly. It turned out they were hiding.

Chi Wan had another question. “Were there people originally hidden in the tunnels?”

“Yes.”

Yu Jiuzhou affirmed, looking at Chi Wan. “I arranged for eight hundred heavily armored soldiers to be stationed underground.”

Not a single person who entered the grounds of Xuanyang Temple today would be leaving.

Truly a master of intrigue, Chi Wan praised. “Even if I hadn’t interrogated that assassin just now, Your Highness would have had plenty of ways to get the information you wanted, right?”

Yu Jiuzhou shook her head. “That assassin was disguised as one of Prince Ying’s men, which provided a convenience for the other two assassins.”

“The Left and Right Guardians of Xuanyang Temple are not professional assassins. There are many things they don’t know, such as the importance of concealing one’s build.”

“He clearly knew more than the Left and Right Guardians. If not for him, I would not have known that both of Xuanyang Temple’s Guardians were foreigners. Nanyue has planted too many spies in the capital. Who would have thought that the Guardians who have lived in Xuanyang Temple for decades were actually foreigners?”

It must have been a plan a century in the making to achieve this result.

If even Xuanyang Temple had been breached, who knew how many spies there were in the Great Zhou court.

Chi Wan nodded thoughtfully. No wonder Yu Jiuzhou was willing to act as bait, going to such lengths to lure the fish to the hook.

The thought was terrifying. Foreigners everywhere, everything infiltrated. In the future, whether for attacking loyal officials, spreading rumors, eliminating dissent, or invading Great Zhou, the existence of these people would be horrifying.

It would lead to utter devastation. Foreign invaders would not care for the people of another country; they would burn, kill, and plunder, committing every possible evil.

Chi Wan swayed their joined hands. “Your Highness is benevolent, beautiful, and kind-hearted. To be able to marry Your Highness is a blessing I’ve earned over eight lifetimes.”

A qualified Fuma must be skilled in flattery.

The secret guards protecting them were baffled. Weren’t they discussing serious matters? Why the sudden change in topic?

Yu Jiuzhou was also puzzled. “Does the Fuma want something?”

Hm?

Chi Wan frowned. Her praise was sincere, so why did it sound like she wanted something? Weren’t the two of them about to consummate their marriage? Shouldn’t she say some nice things to deepen their bond?

Otherwise, it would be awkward if they weren’t familiar with each other when the time came to perform their marital duties.

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