Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Madam Xue was not frightened, nor was she angered. Looking at the supervisor from the Ministry of Justice, she softly said, "There is no such article in the laws of the Great Zhou."

The supervisor, seeing that she was not willing to retreat and was still so calm, couldn't help but grow more furious. Gesturing for his subordinates to come and drive her away, he cursed, "You old traitorous hag, if you don't scram and instead continue to obstruct this official from conducting official business, don't blame this official for being rude, and when the time comes, don't suddenly be afraid of pain!"

This was a naked threat.

No matter how persistent and unswerving Madam Xue's personality, it was impossible for her to overcome the pikes in the hands of those soldiers. She was preparing to depart with a gloomy expression when she suddenly felt that the voice just now was rather familiar.

She glanced again at the supervisor from the Ministry of Justice and realized that he looked somewhat familiar. Unsure, she asked, "Have…I met you somewhere before?"

The supervisor's complexion instantly turned unsightly and he harshly yelled, "Get this person away from here!"

The soldiers of the City Gate Department stepped forward, preparing to drive Madam Xue away.

Madam Xue suddenly remembered and looked at the person with a little surprise. "You are Tianhai Sheng?"

The supervisor's face slightly paled and his voice became shriller. He yelled out to the crowd, "Just what are you good-for-nothings waiting for!"

At these words, the soldiers of the City Gate Department no longer dared to tarry. They raised their weapons as though about to strike, so as to scare her off.

Yet Madam Xue seemed to not see these blades and swords gleaming with cold light. She only stared at the supervisor of the Ministry of Justice standing outside the crowd, her face one of mockery tinged with grief.

She had truly met this person before, on her own estate.

This person was some side relative of the Tianhai clan. Using his relationship with the Tianhai clan, he had pestered many an estate for social connections. He had been extremely respectful to her and Xue Xingchuan, sending them extremely valuable gifts in search of a commission.

Xue Xingchuan had never accepted gifts, and neither had she, but he had ultimately helped this person. In the end, it hadn't been too big of a deal for them.

After several years, it seemed that this person had done rather well for himself in the ministry. He had been appointed as supervisor and had not been implicated in anything. Now, he was still given such a heavy responsibility by the Imperial Court.

When she thought of that person's face then and compared it to that person's face now, Madam Xue only felt a thorough irony in it all.

In this purging of the capital that had taken place over the last few days, the group with the fiercest stance and the most vicious of methods was not those old ministers who had opposed Tianhai for so many years, nor was it the princes of the Chen clan. Instead, it was those ministers of the court who were most loyal and devoted to Tianhai, and those officials subordinate to the Tianhai clan who once acted the most wantonly.

This seemed somewhat insane, inconceivable, but in the countless years of history, this had actually always been the case.

After a grand undertaking, those who seemed the most insane and often performed the most inconceivable of actions were precisely the traitors. It was as if only through these almost hysterical actions could they prove that their loyalty now was different from their loyalty then, could they convince themselves that they did not need to worry that they would be discarded by the new rulers, thus obtaining a freedom devoid of fear.

This was the case for the supervisor from the Ministry of Justice, for the City Gate Department, for several eunuchs in the palace, for the subordinate officials of the Tianhai clan, and also for Zhou Tong.

It was said that in the early hours of the morning after the coup, Zhou Tong was treated by the Sacred Light technique. As soon as he began to recover from his heavy injuries, he convened his subordinates in the Department for Purging Officials and began to attend to business, protecting the emperor in service of the new government.

As she thought of these rumors and looked at this supervisor of the Ministry of Justice, the mocking aura about Madam Xue's smile became thicker and thicker, more and more dazzling.

The supervisor felt that his own eyes were about to be blinded and his malice soared. He no longer wished to drive her away, instead calling, "Capture her for me!"

……

……

At the Li Palace.

Mao Qiuyu was currently watching the Pope water the Green Leaf. He reported, "The inspection of the Temple Seminary is complete. All the students have already returned. The Li Palace Academy…two students were sent to the Zhou Prison. In a little while, Siyuan will personally go to get them back. Radiant Green's side is a bit more peaceful. All the gates of the Heavenly Dao Academy have been shut, and no students are allowed to leave. Only the Orthodox Academy has not paid any attention."

The Green Leaf in the pot was clearly just missing one leaf, yet it seemed to be missing much more, giving off a hollow feeling.

Without turning his head, the Pope said, "Since these matters have been handled adequately, go and see General Xue off."

Mao Qiuyu assented and turned to leave the hall. After a moment, he came back, saying, "Someone has already gone."

The Pope's body momentarily paused. "Who went?"

Mao Qiuyu replied, "That person."

The Pope was somewhat puzzled. "That child has a kind heart, but his personality is certainly not this straightforward."

Mao Qiuyu shook his head, explaining, "Apparently, he happened to be passing by."

……

……

He had sat quietly in the library for three days, and then taken three callers in Eunuch Lin, Prince Chen Liu, and the Pope.

Chen Changsheng only knew of what had happened on that night, but he had no idea what had been going on in the capital over these past few days.

At this time, he and Su Moyu were strolling about the capital.

The reason they had gone walking was that the situation in the capital was gradually settling. He had sat in the library for too long, and both his body and mind felt somewhat sluggish. Moreover, he was well aware that just because it was very difficult for him to leave the capital did not mean that he could not leave the Orthodox Academy. Most importantly, he wanted to find out where Zhexiu was.

Leaves fell in the Luo River, lightly washed to and fro. He was just like those leaves, aimlessly wandering about.

Perhaps because he was acting according to the thoughts in the depths of his heart, this aimless walking happened to lead him and Su Moyu to the city gate.

This was also because the capital had never had a city wall, so the city gate was too inconspicuous.

The willows on both sides of the official road stretched off as two straight green lines into the distance. Under the bleak autumn sun, they presented a delightful sight.

If not for the wailing, the noise, the blood, and that stench.

Chen Changsheng saw the bloodstains on the road and also the black flies in the fields to the sides of the road.

For there to be such large groups of flies in the cold autumn was truly vexing, just like those soldiers of the City Gate Department oozing with killing intent and those officials.

Many people of the capital were present.

Through the wary discussions and the whispered curses of the crowd, Chen Changsheng and Su Moyu very quickly learned the whole story of this matter.

He walked forward and saw that tired, haggard, weak, yet firm and persistent, calm, and brave woman at the very front of the crowd.

It was actually Xue Xingchuan's wife.

Then, he saw those brave and determined soldiers, covered in blood and severely injured, their eyes showing no remorse, only anger and unwillingness.

They were actually Xue Xingchuan's soldiers.

……

……

A moment ago, just when those subordinates of the supervisor from the Ministry of Justice were about to assault Madam Xue, ten-some soldiers suddenly charged out of the city gate.

These soldiers were from the Cong Province Army. After receiving commendations, they had returned to the capital to rest for the autumn.

The Cong Province Army was where Xue Xingchuan had made his name. It was also where he had fought against the demons and achieved the most merit.

Xue Xingchuan had returned to the capital so many years ago, so he would naturally not remember these ordinary soldiers, but these soldiers had never forgotten their general.

They had been secretly waiting for a moment to steal Xue Xingchuan's remains and bury them. However, when Madam Xue was in danger, they found it impossible to remain in hiding.

The disorder very quickly concluded. Madam Xue had been frightened, but not injured. Those soldiers from the Cong Province Army had suffered disastrous casualties and were an appalling sight.

A deputy general of the City Gate Department looked at those heavily injured soldiers from the Cong Province Army and sternly rebuked, "Divine General Xue He has already been captured. In a few days, he will be sent back to the capital for trial. You muddle-headed soldiers actually dare to defy the decree and injure others? Are you plotting rebellion?"

Madam Xue's voice shook, yet was still courteous. "General, we just wanted to bury a body, not plot rebellion."

The deputy general looked at her in silence, then said, "Madam, anyone who dares to bury your husband's body is plotting rebellion."

The supervisor from the Ministry of Justice gave Madam Xue a jeering laugh carrying a deep malice.

This was a matter that was plain to everyone, but it was only at this point that someone so plainly stated it.

The Tianhai Divine Empress had died, Xue Xingchuan had also died, and Xue He would be dead in a few days. The second-ranked Divine General whose reputation once shook the entire continent was now nothing at all.

His remains could not be buried and had become an exhibit of the Imperial Court's strength, as well as implicit approval for the one who had poisoned him.

His widow was about to suffer all sorts of humiliation. Ultimately, she might cast herself into the water and drown, hang herself from a roof beam, or live out her bitter days until she died of old age.

His forsaken troops would also no longer receive any sort of honor. All that was left for them was unforgettable memories and pain.

……

……

"At night, I'll come and take care of this matter."

Su Moyu stood in front of Chen Changsheng and spoke with an unquestionable tone.

Xue Xingchuan's miserable encounter was a touchstone for the new government, a wooden pole erected in front of the city gate. (TN: A touchstone is a certain type of stone used to differentiate alloys of gold based on the mark they leave upon it. The wooden pole in front of the city gate is a reference to a story regarding Lord Shang Yang, a reformer of the state of Qin during the Warring States era. Shang Yang intended to carry out a series of reforms in Qin, but he was worried that the common people would not believe that the government was serious. Thus, Shang Yang set up a wooden pole at the southern gate of the marketplace in the capital of Qin and announced that anyone who moved this pole from the south gate to the north gate would receive ten taels of gold. No one attempted to move the pole, so he raised the reward to fifty taels of gold. A person finally moved the pole, and Shang Yang ordered that he be paid fifty taels of gold, thus illustrating that the government intended to do what it announced.)

Su Moyu knew that since Chen Changsheng had seen this, he would definitely care about it, but Chen Changsheng's identity was too sensitive. If he were to act, it would very easily become something big, so he decided to make it his matter to care about.

From any angle, this was a very courageous and rather more dependable plan, but Chen Changsheng did not think so.

It had actually already been four days; how could it last for one day more?

He walked out of the crowd and up to Madam Xue, then said, "Greetings."