Chapter 758: Eight-Hundred-And-Nine Men!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
On that very night, Yun Yang laid within his room, his eyes shimmering as he gazed at the night sky beyond the windows, a complex expression upon his face.
After a long, long time, he mumbled to himself, "Bao'er… he is truly worthy to sit on the throne as the rightful heir. He is competent enough to assume such a role!"
Yun Yang was not the only person who had such thoughts.
The next day at dawn, the emperor gave out his orders without losing another moment. "The Mediocre King should no longer remain in the capital — he should set out to the fief right away!"
The Mediocre King was a current royal title referring to the former crown prince — the second prince himself!
Compared to Bao'er's wit at such a young age, the former crown prince's title as the 'Mediocre King' was a fitting title indeed!
The next royal edict that was passed down was of a slightly different nature.
'It is hereby proclaimed that Yu Qiankun, son of the eldest crown prince, is the royal grandchild, legal heir to the throne; a nation-wide celebration is in order, all sentences shall be reduced or pardoned!'
The ministers and officials received the orders all at once.
Yutang's dominion had thus begun, seemingly taking the winning stance of domineering the world. Choosing to confer the crown prince's title at this point in time was the perfect move to eliminate any problems that could arise in the future.
There was no trace of doubt in His Majesty's swift and decisive style.
The same day, at dusk, the Mediocre King began his journey, his convoy only eight-hundred-and-eight men strong. They would soon leave Tiantang City, the capital of Yutang, together.
Specially requested by Wu Ying of the military department himself, after the assessment by the Ministry of Rites, any implements brought along by the Mediocre King shall be inspected once more by the military department to prevent any ill-intended infiltration.
The Ministry of Rites dare not lax. After the assessment, they sent it over to the military department immediately.
Wu Ying did not slack one bit while personally overseeing this matter. The whole procedure was strictly monitored, and those who were uninvolved were completely removed. Even if his consort, the palace maids, the concubines, and accompanying eunuchs were included, the total sum would only amount to the stipulated number.
Including the Mediocre King himself, it would be an exact total of eight-hundred-and-nine men.
Hence, he gave out the order to commence their journey.
Eight-hundred-and-nine men!
The Mediocre King was momentarily stunned when he got wind of the headcount. He choked out a crazed laugh as if he was struck by a moment of epiphany and he spat out a spittle-full of blood.
"Hahaha… eight-hundred-and-nine! Eight-hundred-and-nine! Is this a form of revenge? Hahaha…"
Before the city gates, only a few officers showed up to see him off. Instead, the person whom he could never see eye to eye with came forth to send him away — Wu Lie, the President of the Board of Punishments.
Garbed in green robes, the Mediocre King looked back at the city gates, his handsome face etched with desolation and despair. Facing the city gates, he dropped to his knees and bowed nine times.
"Father, after thy humble son bid his farewell today, he will never see you again."
The Mediocre King's face was covered in tears. "Please do take care of yourself. I pray that you will be blessed with a long life."
The Mediocre King's consort comforted him gently, "Your Majesty, the journey might be long, but there is no certainty that you will not have the chance to return. Don't give up or feel sad about it."
The Mediocre King shook his head, grief-stricken. Unwilling to say another word more, he mounted the carriage and rode south.
Nobody knew better than he did the reason why his accompanying convoy was so few in number, or why it numbered eight-hundred-and-nine men!
Although he was being relegated, and it was not unusual for rats to leave a sinking ship, or even if the situation was blatantly taking advantage of his predicament, still, how could he be accompanied by a convoy of only eight-hundred people? Where were his aides? Even if only the staff in the crown prince's suite came along, the total headcount would definitely not just be only within eight-hundred-odd people.
However, the convoy of exactly eight-hundred-and-eight men made the former crown prince recall an event that happened in the past.
During the battle at Tianxuan Cliff, the accompanying convoy during the accident involving the Nine Supremes was also comprised of eight-hundred-and-nine men!
The Nine Supremes traveled alongside an army of eight-hundred men!
Eight-hundred-and-eight men perished during the battle at Tianxuan Cliff — almost the entire army was wiped out. Supreme Cloud was the only lucky survivor of this calamity and had stirred up a big melodrama upon his immediate return. However, the Nine Supremes had since concealed themselves within the shadows!
The count was inclusive of those who had perished and those who had survived!
In the event of his existing relegation, the numbers of his accompanying personnel — including himself — was coincidentally eight-hundred-and-nine!
What did this symbolize?
What did this mean?
The Mediocre King knew the reason behind this more than anyone else!
He and his convoy were bound for death. There would not be any stroke of luck this time — there would never be any fortunate survivors like Supreme Cloud!
Connecting one event to another, if they could make such arrangements, clearly — and surely — they were very aware of his involvement in that incident at Tianxuan Cliff.
If one were to analyze the situation a bit further, the number of people in this journey of his was ultimately determined by the military department.
Did that not just reveal even more problems?
This was neither an accident nor coincidence. It was a dead end — a path to their demise. In other words, it was a journey of no return!
These eight-hundred men were his most trusted aides— they were his support; these eight-hundred men were confidantes to be brought to his grave, buried alongside him!
There would not be a single one that would survive!
This was already a fact set in stone.
After three days, the Mediocre King and his convoy journeyed through Canglong Ridge and had decided to make camp there to rest their troops for the night. When midnight came, the winds started to howl suddenly, followed quickly by a heavy downpour accompanied by lightning and thunder.
The second day, at dawn, not a single person walked out from the campsite which was unusually quiet.
The local government had caught news of it and came forth to investigate the matter. However, they were greeted by a sight of eight-hundred-and-nine corpses sprawled throughout the entire campsite — there were no exceptions. Every single one of them was laid on the ground, arranged meticulously, laying in plain sight for all to see.
The first of them all was the Mediocre King himself.
It was as though the eight-hundred-and-nine men were sleeping.
In the tent, there were four giant words written by the Mediocre King himself; A well-deserved punishment!
On a nearby rock, somebody had written a few lines in blood:
'The prince has broken the law, and he too shall be punished like the peasants; blood for blood, and a tooth for a tooth — all gratitude and grudges shall be repaid in their own weight, and a debt of blood shall be repaid in blood.'
…
In a little restaurant three hundred miles from Canglong Ridge, a lean, young man had ordered a few pots of wine and some dishes. He ate and drank quietly within.
After a long while, he mumbled, "Big Brother Supreme Wind— I, Shui Wuyin, walked the talk — I have avenged you!"
He quietly lowered his head and gazed upon the wine in the bowl, chuckling bitterly, "Sir Supreme Cloud's orders were only to kill the Mediocre King. The innocent should not be involved, but it was too much for me to restrain myself in the end. I don't want to kill just one — I only want to kill all eight-hundred-and-nine men."
He chuckled out loud, "It certainly feels good!"
He stood up suddenly and simply tossed out two thousand silver taels, effectively buying up the whole restaurant's worth of wine and pouring them all to the ground, laughing maniacally.
He kneeled before the wine-stained ground and bowed against it for a few times. With the fabric of his black robe rippling in the air, he turned and left abruptly.
…
At the Board of War, in Wu Ying's yard, a terse conversation was taking place.
"Sir Wu Ying, thy humble servant did not execute his duties well. Thy humble servant is here to receive his punishment."
"Oh?"
"When thy humble servant reached the scene, they were all there. His Highness—the Mediocre King — and his convoy of eight-hundred-and-nine men were already dead. There were no survivors."
"Hmm?"
"There was a rock at the side with these words written— ''The prince has broken the law, and he too shall be punished like the rest; blood for blood, and a tooth for a tooth — all gratitude and grudges shall be repaid in their own weight, and a debt of blood shall be repaid in blood'. These words indicated that someone had got to them first."
"Hmm."
"Sir, what should we do now?"
"Cover all traces of this."
"Yes, I understand."
"Off you go."
"Thy humble servant shall now take his leave."
The man in black exited the room in reversed steps.
Wu Ying paced around slowly. He stopped before the window and looked upon the night sky. Heaving a heavy sigh, he muttered, "He's dead."
A piece of cloud hovered right in front of the moon and blocked the entire view of it.
The sky was obscured by a blanket of haze.
"I gave out the orders two hours later on purpose — as expected, someone got to them first!"