Chapter 566.1: A Vermin’s Punishment

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After An Junwang felt like dying on the spot for a full three seconds, Xiao Heng had Yuya'er bring over a bottle of jinchuang medicine.
An Junwang felt like dying even more...
Gu Jiao finished treating Mo Qianxue and Hua Xiyao's injuries at the medical hall and returned to Bishui Alley with her little medicine chest.
Originally, Hua Xiyao was staying next door to Mo Qianxue, but in order to better monitor her, Mo Qianxue directly asked Gu Jiao to move both of them into the same room.
Of course, it wasn’t in Gu Jiao's room.
Mo Qianxue didn't want anyone else staying in Gu Jiao's room.
Hua Xiyao, who had taken some soft bone powder, lay on the small bed. She felt weak and uncomfortable all over, only able to glare coldly at Mo Qianxue on the big bed, "Mo Qianxue, you traitor!"
Mo Qianxue remained silent. She sat at the head of the bed with her back against a soft pillow, quietly weaving a red string she had learned from Little Jiang Li.
Hua Xiyao sneered, "What? You dare to do it but not admit it? The Young Owner shouldn't have trusted you so much! It was the Young Owner who picked you up! In the end, you betrayed the Young Owner!"
Mo Qianxue paused her hand weaving the red string and glanced at her, saying, "Hua Xiyao, what do you know?"
Hua Xiyao replied in a cold voice, "Then you tell me, what don't I know? Or did I say something wrong?"
Mo Qianxue hesitated, "You didn't say anything wrong. Yes, I betrayed the Young Owner."
Admitting some things actually felt like a relief. She had refused to accept the fact that she betrayed the Young Owner before, but now there was really nothing to argue about.
She didn't carry out the Young Owner’s orders, and in everyone's eyes, that was betraying the Young Owner.
No one considered that she could directly step out and accuse the Young Owner, but she didn't do so. She couldn't bring herself to harm Gu Jiao; even so, instead of pushing the Young Owner onto the execution platform, she chose to either flee or die on her own. After all, that was her own master.
Mo Qianxue said softly, "Hua Xiyao, do you know? I almost died that night. In order to gain Gu Jiao's trust, the Young Owner ordered someone to deal with me severely. I almost lost my life."
Hua Xiyao mocked, "But you're fine now, aren't you? The Young Owner counted on Miraculous Hands Hall to heal you."
Mo Qianxue shook her head, "You don't understand. If she hadn't given me her blood, no matter how skilled she was in medicine, it wouldn't have been enough."
Hua Xiyao shrugged it off, "It’s just a few drops of blood!"
Hua Xiyao wasn't a physician. She didn't understand that not everyone's blood type could be transfused with each other's. Obviously, the Young Owner of Heavenly Music House didn't know either, so the Young Owner didn't care whether she lived or died from the beginning.
Mo Qianxue said lightly, "I can't be bothered talking to you."
Women were generally like this: if they could have a straightforward argument, it would be fine, but arguing halfway without reaching a conclusion was like punching a few clumps of cotton.
Hua Xiyao couldn't find a way to argue and said angrily, "Humph, our lives belong to the Young Owner. Even if we die for the Young Owner, what does it matter? You're just afraid of death!"
Mo Qianxue took a deep breath, cleared her mind of distractions, and continued weaving the red string in her hand.
Gu Jiao knew that she was an important witness, but Gu Jiao had never forced her to accuse the Young Owner, nor even mentioned such a request.
If the Young Owner knew she had the opportunity to accuse Gu Jiao, would the Young Owner consider whether she wanted to do it or not, whether it was difficult for her or not?
Definitely not.
Like Hua Xiyao, she once thought that the entire meaning of her existence was to dedicate herself to the Young Owner. She wasn't an independent individual, she was just a servant of her master.
Until she met Gu Jiao.
How could Hua Xiyao understand? What she hadn't obtained herself, she neither hoped others would obtain nor believed others could obtain.
Regardless of how Hua Xiyao tried to provoke Mo Qianxue afterward, Mo Qianxue just ignored her, leaving Hua Xiyao very frustrated.
……
There had been quite a few incidents happening in the capital recently, with repeated twists and turns. First, the Heavenly Music House colluded with an imperial princess, but it was revealed that the mastermind behind it was actually Empress Dowager Zhuang. The Emperor then intended to take drastic action against Empress Dowager Zhuang, but she unexpectedly had gone missing.
Minister Xing, as Empress Dowager Zhuang's henchman, was imprisoned in the Central Judicial Office. Assistant Minister Li had done a meritorious service by reporting him and assumed the position of Minister Xing, albeit temporarily. To officially become a Minister, the Emperor still needed to personally handle the case and issue a decree, following a series of procedures.
The dynasty was in turmoil, and the people were uneasy.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang claimed illness again.
The memorandums piled up like mountains in the court, and the pressure of the entire cabinet accumulated on the shoulders of Grand Secretary Yuan alone.
Both Deputy Secretaries were close confidants of Grand Preceptor Zhuang. When this incident occurred, their performance was very passive, but fortunately, Grand Secretary Yuan managed to control the situation for now.
However, it was somewhat difficult and exhausting to control, and for the first time, Grand Secretary Yuan entertained the idea of appointing a Junior Secretary.
Under normal circumstances, the cabinet wouldn’t appoint Junior Secretaries. After the Grand Secretary stepped down, one of the two Deputy Secretaries would be selected to become the new Grand Secretary.
The appointment of a Junior Secretary would only occur when neither of the Deputy Secretaries was sufficient.
The interests of the Junior Secretaries were in conflict with those of the Deputy Secretaries and the powerful chain of interests behind them, as it was often strongly opposed by the cabinet officials. However, it was indeed a new way of reform, so it had gained the Emperor's support.
Through the negotiations between the ruler and his officials, a clever balance was reached——agreeing to establish the Junior Secretary position. However, this position came with many restrictions. Firstly, the appointee could not exceed twenty years old. Secondly, they must be at least a second-class Jinshi. Thirdly, they must have made significant contributions to the dynasty or have at least two years of experience as a Hanlin Academy official.
These conditions were too strict, to the extent that no one had met them so far.
No, that wasn’t entirely accurate.
Zhuang Yuheng of the Zhuang Family was twenty years of age, he was more than a second-class Jinshi, ranking second overall in the recent imperial examinations, and he had made great contributions by standing in for the Crown Prince in the State of Chen, achieving remarkable achievement.
However, firstly, he was from the Zhuang Family, and secondly, in truth, Grand Secretary Yuan had another candidate in mind who he favored more.
"What a pity the conditions haven't been met." Grand Secretary Yuan sighed regretfully.
……
Lately, Empress Xiao's greatest headaches were the Emperor's illness and the whereabouts of Empress Dowager Zhuang.
The Emperor suffered a head injury, and the imperial physicians couldn't determine when he would regain consciousness. As for Empress Dowager Zhuang's whereabouts, there had been no progress at all.
There were checkpoints at the city gates, and the city walls were high. The walls of Renshou Palace were tall as well. Empress Xiao didn't believe that Empress Dowager Zhuang had the ability to fly out of the imperial capital, so she must still be within the city.
Empress Xiao instructed Commander Fu to intensify the search efforts.
Princess Ning'an had been either accompanying the Emperor at Huaqing Palace or paying respects to Empress Xiao at Kunning Palace these days.
Her actions didn't seem strange to others. One of her two main supports in the palace was gone, and the only one left, namely the Emperor, was unconscious. She had to flatter Empress Xiao properly, otherwise how could she still gain a foothold in the palace?
Furthermore, her son, Huangfu Xian, hadn't caused any trouble in the past few days.
Indeed someone who understood the current situation.
[T/N: Jinshi are scholars who passed the imperial exams. Second-class Jinshi are Jinshis whose rank are right below the top three scholars to a certain number.]Raz P.'s Thoughts

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