Your Majesty, your subject Pei Lanqing kowtows before you—…
The day finally arrived to transport the Xuanjin out of the mountains. Xiao Linye had ingratiated himself with the foreman, who immediately assigned him, the strongest among them, to help carry the brocade.
Each roll of the precious Xuanjin was carefully wrapped in oiled cloth and loaded onto wooden carts. Under the cover of night, they were hauled out of the deep mountains toward Duzhou City.
It was already past midnight, and the city gates of Duzhou City were long closed. But the leader of the convoy waved his torch toward the gate, and two guards immediately rushed down, quietly opening the gates and urging them to hurry inside.
Throughout the journey, Xiao Linye acted obediently, following the foreman’s every order. In reality, he was patiently observing everything around him.
After entering Duzhou, the carts continued along the main road for some time before turning directly toward the First Brocade Pavilion of the World.
Xiao Linye suppressed a cold laugh. Prefect Lü was truly audacious, hiding the Xuanjin in plain sight within the world-renowned Brocade Tower.
The wooden carts came to a halt beneath the Brocade Tower. The manager began directing the workers, who carried the Xuanjin into the storage rooms on the first and second floors.
More carts arrived in succession, and the Xuanjin piled up into a small mountain. The manager grew increasingly anxious, constantly urging the workers to hurry and carry the bales inside.
Xiao Linye was the most agile of them all. While others made one trip, he could make two or three. Seizing his opportunity, he slipped past the second-floor staircase while the manager wasn’t looking and began exploring higher floors.
Xiao Linye had assumed that since they were transporting Xuanjin today, there wouldn’t be any unnecessary people upstairs. But to his surprise, when he reached the fourth floor, he discovered a banquet in progress.
Immediately, Xiao Linye became even more cautious, softening his footsteps. After confirming that the corridor was temporarily empty, he cautiously approached the room where the banquet was being held and peered through a crack in the window.
What he saw made him frown.
The one hosting the banquet was none other than Lü Juwen, the Prefect of Duzhou.
According to Great Qi law, prefects from all regions were required to report to the imperial capital at the end of each year. Therefore, Xiao Linye was familiar with Lü Juwen. However, the other guests were not officials of the court. Judging by their attire, Xiao Linye realized they weren’t even from Great Qi at all—they were Zhaojiang people.
Xiao Linye’s earlier suspicions were now confirmed one by one. He couldn’t tell whether he should be angry or amused as he held his breath, listening intently to the conversation inside.
“Please wait a little longer, gentlemen,” Lü Juwen said from the main seat, his expression far from relaxed, worry etched between his brows. “His Majesty is currently in Fancheng. I’m curious why you chose this particular moment to collect your goods.”
“Can’t you give us a few more days?”
The Zhaojiang men clearly didn’t hold Lü Juwen in high regard. They exchanged glances and chuckled. “Lord Lü, we’re actually helping you. If your emperor were to arrive and discover you’ve been hoarding so much Xuanjin, wouldn’t that be disastrous?”
“We’re clearing out your inventory before he arrives. You should be thanking us.”
Lü Juwen’s expression didn’t soften at their words. He could see through their pretense. They weren’t helping him at all; they were simply afraid that if the emperor discovered his illicit Xuanjin trade, he wouldn’t be able to continue supplying them. That’s why they were rushing to collect their goods.
Yet this was not the time to sever ties. Lü Juwen suppressed his fury and groveled, saying, “Then I must thank you all… I wonder if you could intercede on my behalf with Prince Zhaojiang?”
“Over these years, I have raised military funds for the Venerable Prince through the sale of Xuanjin. Even if I have no merit, I have certainly toiled. If this matter comes to light one day, I hope Prince Zhaojiang will find a way to save my life.”
Xiao Linye’s teeth nearly shattered upon hearing this. He couldn’t believe that a high-ranking official of Great Qi’s court, having already embezzled funds, was now helping a rebel prince in the Southwest raise military funds.
Even if he beheaded Lü Juwen ten or a hundred times, it wouldn’t be enough!
As the meeting dragged on, Xiao Linye decided he’d heard enough. He retraced his steps and returned to the warehouse on the first floor.
Several more wooden carts had arrived outside. The manager was sweating profusely, too busy to notice where Xiao Linye had gone.
Standing in the warehouse, Xiao Linye surveyed the opulent decorations and the stacks of Xuanjin piled higher than a man. He thought of the hundreds of laborers trapped in sunless caverns, their bodies twisted as they wove the Xuanjin.
The very brocade they produced, instead of bringing them prosperity and peace, would become the enemy’s warhorses to attack their homeland. How absurd and tragic!
Xiao Linye watched coldly as the guards, whips in hand, drove the laborers forward. He quickened his pace, carrying more Xuanjin into the Brocade Tower. His face remained impassive, but his mind was already meticulously planning everything.
The last few carts of Xuanjin were finally brought inside. Though the overseer hadn’t personally carried any, he had spent most of the night directing the work and was now panting, eager to return to his rest.
He ordered the guards to drive all the laborers back to their carriages. After carefully counting them, he gave the command to leave the city and head into the mountains.
But no one noticed that just as the carriages began to move, a dark shadow slipped from a window and concealed itself on the eaves of a shop lining the street.
Xiao Linye waited until they had all departed before re-entering the Brocade Tower.
Lü Juwen and the Zhaojiang people were still feasting. After confirming they were still occupied, Xiao Linye returned to the warehouse. There, he meticulously unwrapped each priceless bolt of Xuanjin, scattering them across the floor and along the staircase leading to the upper levels. He then doused the fabrics with oil.
As a lit torch slipped from his hand, flames instantly erupted across the exquisite brocade, billowing thick smoke that quickly spread throughout the entire ground floor of the Brocade Tower.
Xiao Linye stood still, watching coldly as people on the upper floors of the Brocade Tower discovered the fire and began shouting for help. The flames below were too fierce for them to escape.
Lü Juwen and the Zhaojiang people were momentarily stunned. They dared not descend, nor did they dare jump directly from the fourth floor. They huddled by the windows, desperately calling for help.
Only when the flames were about to reach his feet did Xiao Linye finally leave the scene. He stood on the empty street, watching the First Brocade Pavilion of the World, so celebrated by the world, burn and collapse in the inferno, inch by inch turning to ash. The raging fire illuminated half the sky over Duzhou.
The city’s residents were roused from their sleep by the commotion. Firefighters from the government rushed toward the scene, but they were intercepted halfway by a group of highly trained and skilled individuals.
These were the Imperial Guards led by Song Pingming, who had infiltrated Duzhou City days earlier. Upon seeing the flames, they immediately understood this was Xiao Linye’s signal and rushed toward the Brocade Tower.
Lü Weibao was also awakened by his servants. Though he and Lü Juwen were not on good terms, he knew the Brocade Tower’s importance to the Lü Family. He scrambled out of bed, threw on some clothes, and rushed out.
By the time he finally reached the Brocade Tower, the flames had already consumed almost the entire structure. His father, Lü Juwen, along with several Zhaojiang people and servants, were crowded at the windows on the top floor, screaming for help with all their might.
But not a single person below dared to fight the fire. Hundreds of poor people in various rags stood silently outside the Brocade Tower, each one like a drawn blade.
Among them, a man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, watching Lü Juwen and the Zhaojiang people’s desperate struggle for survival as if it were a spectacle.
A deep sense of foreboding washed over Lü Weibao. Forcing himself to focus, he realized the man was Sixth Brother Qin!
No, Lü Weibao shook his head. The Sixth Brother Qin before him was clearly different from the one he had once treated like an ant, crushing him without resistance. The firelight illuminated his eyes and brows, revealing an aura of disdain for the world.
“You! You’re not Sixth Brother Qin! Who are you really?” Lü Weibao shouted, his already disheveled hair falling loose. The arrogant and spoiled young master of old was now reduced to a terrified, disheveled mess.
Xiao Linye merely tilted his head slightly, his gaze cold as he instructed his personal guard, “Drag him away. He’s just getting in the way here.”
Lü Weibao was driven completely mad by the emotionless words, devoid of even a trace of feeling. He clawed at the approaching guards like a madman, shouting, “Tell me! At least tell me who you are!”
Just then, Lü Weibao noticed that Sixth Brother Qin’s gaze finally lingered, burning with a fierce intensity.
But the gaze wasn’t directed at him.
Lü Weibao instinctively turned his head, following Sixth Brother Qin’s gaze. He saw several soldiers in golden armor escorting a person who had arrived from outside the city. They parted the crowd and led the newcomer to Sixth Brother Qin.
Xiao Linye wore a faint smile as he watched Pei Lanqing approach step by step, completely ignoring the stunned Lü Weibao.
Pei Lanqing was draped in a light blue cloak. Though his belly was swollen, he walked forward with unwavering determination before the assembled crowd. Then, holding the Imperial Jade Seal in both hands, he knelt before Xiao Linye.
“Your subject, Pei Lanqing, pays homage to Your Majesty—”
Immediately, Song Pingming led eight hundred imperial guards in a perfectly synchronized bow before Xiao Linye: “May Your Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand years!”
The cry of “Long live the Emperor!” quickly spread through the crowd. All the commoners who had gathered in Duzhou followed suit, kneeling and bowing in reverence.
Lü Weibao stared in disbelief, his body collapsing uncontrollably. He was roughly forced to the ground by the imperial guards on either side.
Xiao Linye gazed at the crowd chanting “Long live the Emperor!” and at the First Brocade Pavilion of the World, still engulfed in flames. Reflecting on the sights, sounds, and experiences of the past few days, his heart was filled with profound emotions.
He accepted the jade seal from Pei Lanqing, pulled him up, and embraced him. Together, they received the people’s bows and watched the luxurious Brocade Tower, built with blood and sweat, crumble in the inferno.
