Book 12: Chapter 89
In less than three days following Wondrous Warrior Estate’s implication in the military garrison attacks, hardly a person was seen, and seldom was a footstep heard. Due to the property being cordoned, their three thousand guests were evicted.
The martial artists who usually visited for sparring matches showed loyalty to the family, expressing words of comfort to the family. In contrast, 70% of the “loyal, respected adepts” Li Muye recruited were all out of there on the first day his death sentence was announced. 20% of them, of whom were scions or wealthy or respected clans, decided they would find new masters to serve instead of an unaccomplished, rude and ruthless kid. The remainder zipped straight over to Liu Shan Men to sob and state they had proof of his wrongdoings. If they didn’t claim they had a lapse in judgement or wrongly trusted him, they claimed they stayed by his side to collect incriminating evidence so that they could eventually report him.
Everyone is your friend when you are at the top and can provide them something. The moment you fall, they’re no longer your friend. Li Muye showed what it meant to raise a child without educating them, as well as what it meant to fail in teaching one’s child.
Not a single report from anyone helped Wondrous Warrior Estate’s case. Zhao Xin, Lu Feiming and Li Muye’s usual cronies supplied a plethora of evidence, including how the job was executed, who would fulfil what role and when the job was to be completed. Li Muye’s involvement in the theft of Yongheng Bank’s seal was as good as set in stone. It would be unfair to say they betrayed their friend because Li Muye never treated them as friends; he treated them as henchmen to do his bidding. When he wasn’t pleased, he’d give them earfuls or hit them. Besides, they weren’t lying when they said he orchestrated the job.
Upon learning his son, Zhao Xin, was the one who pinched the seal, General Zhao Tiankui personally turned his son in at Liu Shan Men. After saluting Shen Yiren, he ruthlessly beat his son sixty times using one of the courtroom cudgels. Afterwards, without checking on his son’s wellbeing, he personally locked his son up in prison and said, “Vice-Captain Shen, spare the wretched sinner no mercy.” For his impartiality, General Zhao Tiankui was praised.
An employee from Wondrous Warrior Estate, who prepared the map and resources, leaked that Li Muye sent Miss Wen out on a job, and the direction she went was the direction that the nightfire was fired from. Her elder sister promptly had portraits of Miss Wen drawn up and demanded she be found.
A leader from Hangzhou received news that a group of criminals, who turned out to be Fiends’ Genesis, were hiding out in the outskirts of Jiangcheng. They managed to capture dozens of the criminals and got some to testify that it was indeed the leaders of Fiends’ Genesis they were serving. Although they failed to apprehend the strong ring leader, over a hundred soldiers testified that they saw the maiden in the portraits.
People were taken aback to learn that there were signs of residents in the estate so close to the capital. When they investigated the abode that they had missed for decades, they discovered that the decoration, its design, the furniture, plants, just about everything suggested it was Wondrous Warrior Estate’s twin sibling. Even the etiquette procedures were identical. What really sealed the deal, though, was a land title deed stamped with Wondrous Warrior Estate’s seal.
Li Muye finally changed his tone when all the evidence was laid bare before him. He admitted he interacted with Fiends’ Genesis but stated it was purely for bragging rights, not for treason. He asserted he had no involvement in their army garrison raids. Frankly, his disputes went nowhere when there were stacks of testimonies and evidence. In the end, the verdict was to execute him in autumn once the Ministry of Justice, Liu Shan Men and Court of Judicial Review finished interrogating him. The fact that Emperor Yuansheng named Secretary Leng the principal interrogator meant that he was going to be impartial. After all, Secretary Leng was the sort of man to argue with a monarch if the law book stated that an execution was in order even if the monarch tried to argue otherwise.
Since Li Muye was virtually finished, his mother finally contravened the order to stay home and personally requested an audience with Her Majesty Empress Dowager. Unfortunately for her, she was rejected at the door and left with one word: denied. In response, she dropped to her knees and stated she wouldn’t leave unless she was granted an audience.
When she passed out two days later from fatigue in addition to lack of food and water, witnesses were going to help, but Her Majesty Empress Dowager decreed that nobody was permitted to help or feed her. Li Muye’s mother was ordered to reflect on her wrongs and walk herself home once she came to the same way she walked her way into the palace. If she wanted to continue kneeling, so be it. Let her death be a warning to others.
Once it was clear that Her Majesty Empress Dowager wasn’t going to succour, Li Muye’s mother decided to go into hiding with their clan’s loyal troops, effectively vanishing into thin air. Given Wondrous Warrior Estate was colluding with Fiends’ Genesis, people were apprehensive about what she would do now that they didn’t know where she had gone.
Emperor Yuansheng expected people to speak up for Li Muye considering how many years they had been building their faction. Nevertheless, no one dared to say another word when Emperor Yuansheng glared at them.
Though the neutral faction might not have supported all the decisions thus far, they had seen enough of how vassals behaved to see who was on which side. Prime Minister Li just said it was too hot for him, so he left the capital, citing he was going to take care of his crops and avoid the heat wave.
While the summer heat wasn’t exactly friendly, it wasn’t the reason Emperor Yuansheng scowled whilst reading. If someone had the audacity to raid military garrisons, was there anything they wouldn’t have the audacity to do? That was not to mention they assaulted a new earl he personally awarded the title of Hanlin Academician.
“Your Majesty, he has arrived,” a eunuch notified.
“Uhm.” Emperor Yuansheng placed his book down. “What insight do you have to share with me, Brother Huang?”
Glossary
Execution in autumn – They said autumn’s bleak atmosphere and cold soughing winds was the most apt environment to punish evildoers, hence the common choice to hold executions in autumn.
