Bone Painting CoronerBone Painting Coroner
The Imperial edict was rolled open.
The first thing that drew the eye was the impression of the Jade Seal made in red ink on the bottom left corner of the page.
Eight characters were clearly printed: Received Mandate of Heaven, Everlasting Crystal.
This was undoubtedly an edict left by the late Emperor!
The edict read: 37th year of Hanzhi, 1st day of the 9th month. The barbarians have been at our borders for over a hundred years. They offered tributes for several decades, and maintained amiable relations. If someday in the future, the Barbarians rise up in arms, initiating disputes and causing disturbances without consideration of amiable appearances, a hundred thousand troops shall be sent to the borders in an expedition against the Barbarians in order to restore order. By the word of the Emperor himself.
It meant that, if the Barbarians caused trouble in the future, this edict could be brought to the borders to deploy a troop of ten thousand soldiers in order to kill the Barbarians.
Jing Rong steepled his fingers together, astounded. He said skeptically, "To my knowledge, the late Emperor had never issued an edict like this."
"You certainly don't know about it. To be exact, even the current Emperor doesn't know about it. This edict was given to me by the late Emperor in secret."
Eh? Jing Rong didn't really understand and waited for his explanation.
Marquis Kang furrowed his brows deeply in a grave expression. This matter had weighed on his mind, untold for several decades. This posthumous edict was just like a lingering phantom of the late Emperor haunting him day and night. Now that it was out in the open, it felt like he had put down an enormous boulder that had been resting on his shoulders.
He spoke slowly, “For over a hundred years, the Barbarians have acknowledged our Great Lin as superior and never stopped offering tributes. However, there was civil unrest within the Barbarians around two decades ago that resulted in a change of leadership. From then on, the Barbarians started to become restless at the borders. This is why the late Emperor issued this edict. In the event that the Barbarians rose in revolt, this edict could be delivered to the borders to deploy an army of a hundred thousand to punish and kill them.
“But two decades ago, the late Emperor passed away and the new Emperor ascended to the throne. When His Majesty first ascended, both the imperial court and the common people were in a state of upheaval, and the neighboring nations all started giving us trouble. In order to consolidate his position, the new Emperor signed a bilateral no-conflict agreement that lasts thirty years! The Barbarians have been rather tractable these last two decades, but half a year ago, they experienced civil unrest and changed leaders again. Thus, they started to cause trouble without restraint at the borders. Even if His Majesty wanted to send troops, the Barbarians haven’t technically violated the agreement since they haven’t crossed the defensive line nor attacked with troops.
“Thus, Great Lin can’t send the army out to attack them either, only send troops to quell the troublemakers. The bilateral agreement signed twenty years ago has undoubtedly become their protective talisman. However, the late Emperor’s edict supersedes any and all decrees of the current Emperor. Once this edict is made public, the ‘Thirty-Year Bilateral Agreement’ would be nullified, and the army can be deployed.
“The problem is, the Barbarians somehow found out that the late Emperor had left a posthumous edict with me. So, several months ago, almost fifty Barbarians sneaked into Great Lin and came to Jingzhou in search of this edict. They were originally captured and sent into the jail, but around a dozen of them had escaped a while ago into that forest. This was also the reason why I would send the estate troops to chase after and execute them.”
Jing Rong finally understood what he meant. Who would have expected that Imperial Grandfather had reserved such a trick! How brillant! And right now, this weighty Imperial Edict was not only the key that would spell the Barbarians’ deaths, but also the bargaining chip that would allow him to return to the capital.
Marquis Kang continued meaningfully, “Your Highness is intelligent and should know how to best use this Imperial edict, I’d expect?”
Jing Rong naturally completely understood. He cupped his hands in thanks while gripping the posthumous edict tightly. “If I can successfully use this Imperial Edict to return to the capital, I will surely give my utmost if Marquis Kang finds himself in difficulty in the future.”
“I am the one who should thank Your Highness and Teacher Ji instead. If not for you, the matter of my estate would not be solved and I would have been forever kept in the dark.” His words trailed off and he sighed gustily again. “I hope that Your Highness will achieve what you wish for when you return to the capital. The country of Great Lin has capable people indeed.”
The country of Great Lin has capable people indeed!
Jing Rong nodded lightly.
Marquis Kang turned back to his original position and continued flipping through the bloodstained diary in his hands without saying anything else. Every single word and sentence on the paper was written in a delicate and elegant hand.
Jing Rong also tucked the edict into his sleeve and quietly left without disturbing him further, and returned to his room to think.
That day, the rest of the Marquis’ estate was busy as a beehive. Since so many people were involved in the ‘hauntings’, many positions had been left empty after they were imprisoned in jail. The old steward had to worry about his master’s poor mood, hurry to recruit new people into the estate, and find people to repair the many rooms that had been damaged by the fire.
For a while, the Marquis’ estate was unbelievably lively. It only quieted down a little at night when everything was done.
As for the Imperial edict, Jing Rong told Ji Yunshu about it after he regained his calm in his room. When she first heard about the late Emperor’s edict, Ji Yunshu was slightly startled and thought carefully about its pros and cons, before asking, “What do you intend to do?”
“Adapt to the situation.”
“Are you confident of success?”
“The late Emperor’s edict is genuine. Nobody would dare to obstruct us from returning to the capital. I’m only worried that someone might betray us, so we can only adapt to the situation.” He pondered for a moment, then picked up Ji Yunshu’s hand. “I’m the one that Jing Yi wants to block from returning, not you. So when the time comes, you must enter the capital before I do.”
“No…” Jing Rong interrupted her before she could speak. “Listen to me. You must do as I say. I can only be at ease while dealing with them if you are safe.” He said earnestly.
Ji Yunshu bit her lips for a long time in contemplation before she finally nodded.
Lang Po arrived at this moment, but stopped in the doorway and looked at the two people holding hands and looking at each other inside. He had a feeling that if he interrupted, it would be as dangerous as stepping into an oncoming tsunami. Why do I have to bump into this again?!
Strangely, Jing Rong didn’t glare at him this time and merely told Ji Yunshu, “We will set off early tomorrow morning. You’d better go prepare.”
“Alright.” She acquiesced obediently and strode out the doors. Lang Po turned and stepped back to allow her to pass through. For a moment, Ji Yunshu glanced back at Jing Rong suspiciously, feeling like they were going to talk about something deliberately behind her back. In the end, she didn’t dwell on it and left.
After she left, Lang Po entered the room and reported, “Your Highness, we couldn’t find Young Master Wei.”
Jing Rong frowned. “What do you mean you couldn’t find him?”
“Our people searched all over the capital as well as in the small towns around the capital to no avail. Lu Jiang even sent people to tail Prince Yi and his trusted aide Dou Quan, but we still couldn’t find Young Master Wei.” Lang Po mused skeptically, “Could it be that Prince Yi was not the culprit?”
“Impossible.” Jing Rong denied it.
“But we’ve already searched through the entire capital and didn’t even find a single finger.”
“What about within Prince Yi’s estate?”
“We started looking from the estate, but Young Master Wei wasn’t there. Lu Jiang also suspected that there might be a secret passage in the estate, but Young Master Wei was hidden there, there must at least be someone who went in to deliver water. Our people surveilled it for a long time but didn’t see any sign of movement in Prince Yi’s estate at all.”
Lang Po was also getting rather anxious. After all, he could be considered friends or at least close acquaintances with Wei Yi, and they had even slept on the same bed.
Jing Rong thought aloud, analysing the matter, “With Jing Yi’s personality, where would he hide Wei Yi?”
Not in his estate, nor within the capital, and it wasn’t even in the capital’s surrounding areas!
But someone couldn’t possibly disappear without a trace.
“Continue looking. We must find Wei Yi even if we had to turn over every last stone within the capital. Nothing must happen to him.”
“Yes.” Lang Po acknowledged his orders and hurried to inform Lu Jiang.