Chapter 402: The Path of Life Is Also a Path of Death

The main hall of the Qianqing Palace was covered with gold bricks. The Lu Mu Brick Kiln in Xiangcheng, which produced these bricks, had earned the reputation of an imperial kiln. Usually, even when Marquis Meng Ying of Baoding glanced at these bricks, he only saw their beauty. But now, kneeling on them, he felt a chill creeping up from his knees, and soon his hands became stiff.

“Do you know why I spared Meng Xian’s life?”

Four days had passed since that terrifying interrogation, yet hearing such a question suddenly still filled Meng Ying with shock. Thinking of how his father had been granted the title of Marquis of Baoding for his services there, and now it was only in its second generation, he knew he must not let this title end with him. He quickly steadied himself and said, “It is surely the emperor’s boundless grace.”

“Nonsense!”

Zhu Di let out a cold snort before saying coldly, “Your father worked diligently his whole life, and you have also been cautious. I merely spared your family out of consideration for you two. Jiaozhi is in a chaotic situation now—civilians are captured by bandits, military officers die on the battlefield. Death solves everything!”

This was undoubtedly a clear statement that Meng Xian was being sent to his death. Yet, after a moment of shock, Meng Ying was filled with gratitude and quickly bowed in thanks. After all, dying in battle sounded better than being executed, allowing him to hold his head high among his peers. Thinking of how the families of several traitors had been stripped of their property and turned into slaves, while Meng Xian’s family had somehow been spared, he pressed his forehead harder into the ground until it turned blue and purple.

“Enough. I don’t want a bug bowing its head. Even if you die from knocking your head on these bricks, there won’t be any sound!”

With an impatient shout, Zhu Di ordered Meng Ying to get up and then said, “I know you claimed to be ill and rarely dealt with matters at the Left Military Command. Now that the crisis is over, do what you need to do. Stop acting like someone who fears slander and criticism—I despise that. As for your eldest son, Meng Jun… I took him with me when I visited the military camp in the western suburbs last time. He’s not bad. For the sons of meritorious officials to stay in places like the capital, their prospects are always limited. If you’re willing to part with him, send him to Xuanfu to gain experience for three years!”

Meng Ying had always valued his eldest legitimate son the most. Precisely because of this, he had consistently suppressed Meng Jun’s rise in the Left Army Command, fearing that his son might be swayed by materialistic desires and go down the wrong path. However, as he gradually came to understand his son’s true nature, those concerns faded away. Instead, he began to worry that Meng Jun was too indifferent about his future and lacked ambition. Faced with the emperor’s assignment now, he was overjoyed; all his initial fears and uncertainties vanished, and he hurriedly thanked and agreed.

Out of fear of being implicated, the Marquis of Baoding’s household had been shrouded in gloom since four days ago. Meng Ying’s summons to the palace that day caused even greater chaos throughout the household. Lady Lu simply went to the temple to pray, and even Meng Jun couldn’t carefreely head to the Left Army Command at such a time. As a young master, he had no choice but to pace around the house.

Bored and seeing gloomy faces everywhere, he went inside to teach his son Meng Ang to write. This reminded him of Zhang Qing’s suggestion about Zhang Yue from last time. He had thought it would be good for the children of several families to study together, but now, with such an incident, sensible parents wouldn’t blame Zhang Yue, yet who knew if anyone might secretly complain? His wife was also in an awkward situation at home, so it seemed difficult even for him to send his son to his brother-in-law’s place in the future.

Five-year-old Meng Ang, with his strong features, finished writing a sheet of characters and proudly showed it to Meng Jun. Seeing the perfunctory praise, he grumbled unhappily, “Dad is like this, Mom is like this—everyone is listless and boring!”

“Brother Ang, you need to understand that adults have many troubles,” Meng Jun said. Having grown up seeing his father Meng Ying’s serious expression, he disliked showing a stern face in front of his own son. He smiled and tapped Meng Ang’s forehead. “Everyone is worrying about life and death, while you’re thinking about whether it’s interesting or boring. That’s the difference. If you can understand why everyone is worried, it means you’ve grown up.”

“I know. It’s just because Great-Grandpa is plotting rebellion!”

Though he had been joking with his son moments earlier, Meng Jun’s face suddenly darkened. He snatched the writing brush from Meng Ang’s hand and asked sternly, “Who told you that?”

Seeing his father suddenly show a rare serious expression, Meng Ang hesitated immediately. After a long while, he stammered, “It was Mother Zhou who said it. She said it was all Uncle San’s fault that caused great-grandfather’s problems. She also said that relatives don’t even know how to cover for each other, prioritizing their own wealth over loyalty—she despises such people the most. I even saw Mother crying secretly yesterday…”
“Stop talking!”
Meng Jun became furious instantly. He stood up, picked up Meng Ang, and rushed out of the house. They went straight to Mother’s small Buddha hall. Ignoring the attempts of the two maids outside, he barged in and only set down Meng Ang at the very back. Lady Lu, who was chanting Buddha names, was taken aback by Meng Jun’s sudden arrival and froze.
“Brother Ang, repeat what you just said to Grandma.”
Lady Lu couldn’t figure out what kind of drama these two grandchildren were putting on. It wasn’t until Meng Ang repeated those words hesitantly that she understood. Turning the prayer beads in her hand, she hesitated for a moment. Logically speaking, such a grave crime of treason—let alone Zhang Yue, even if her husband found out—would force her to report them if she couldn’t persuade them to stop; concealing a relative was only applicable to ordinary crimes, not treason. Moreover, Zhang Yue hadn’t initiated anything; he had merely happened to be involved. But emotionally speaking, Meng Xian was one thing, but all of Meng’s children were dear to her. How could she hold her head high in life now because of this?
“The Zhou family has been in the household for many years. I never thought they’d be so gossipy… She’s old now. Send her back to retire.” She sighed and then added calmly, “I know your wife has suffered wrongs these past few days, but how could there be no reaction in the family with such a serious matter? Take your father’s trip to the palace for example—whether it’s a blessing or a curse, I’m extremely worried right now, let alone others!”
“But Mother, don’t forget that the emperor has already shown mercy. Even if there’s slight resentment in the family, I can just ignore it. But what Sister Zhou said goes beyond mere overstepping—it’s basically resentment!” Meng Jun’s face was now solemn, devoid of his usual carefree expression. “Neither my father nor I have any grand plans for the future. It’s enough to ensure that the Meng family’s reputation remains intact. That’s why we can’t be careless at this critical moment. We can take better care of the younger siblings from my uncle’s family in the future, either by bringing them here or otherwise, but rules must be reestablished—otherwise, it will only bring trouble to the family!”

Like Meng Ying, Lady Lu also always thought Meng Jun was too indifferent and uninvolved in matters. Now, hearing him speak such extraordinary words for the first time, she couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised after a moment’s thought. Just as she was about to reply, a voice suddenly came from outside the Buddha hall.
“Madam, the eldest young master, the master has returned and is coming this way now!”
Hearing this news, Lady Lu immediately recited a prayer to Buddha. Meng Jun quickly helped her go outside, while Meng Ang, who had listened for a long time without understanding anything, followed closely behind. When the three of them stepped out of the Buddha hall into the courtyard, they just happened to see Meng Ying coming in. Compared to his gloomy state when he left in the morning, Meng Ying now appeared full of energy, though the purple and blue marks on his forehead were still shocking to see.
“Master, what happened to you?”
“It’s nothing!” Meng Ying casually sent the servants away and briefly recounted what had happened during his audience with the emperor. Finally, he sighed, “If it weren’t for the respect due to our late master, we probably wouldn’t have been able to avoid this. Yet the emperor has taken a liking to Jun. What a great fortune! Madam, things at home have been in disarray these past few days. We need to put things in order, otherwise, if someone files a complaint, it could really bring trouble!”
Glancing at Meng Jun, Lady Lu immediately threw aside her initial hesitation and smiled, “Jun just told me the same thing. I’ll go to the small meeting hall in a moment. Thank goodness it’s over!”
Compared to their parents’ joy, Meng Jun felt more relief. If the emperor hadn’t shown respect for his late grandfather and taken away the title of Marquis of Baoding, things might be very different now. Although he and his wife Zhang Qing got along well, in such a situation, even he might not be able to protect her from the rumors.
When one succeeds, even his family prospers; when one fails, many are affected. Truly, success and failure depend on one person!
At the hour of noon, Xisi Archway in the capital was packed with people. In the past, outsiders often lingered at those wooden archways with four pillars, three stories, and gilded, painted decorations. But now, no one paid attention to the large characters “Uphold Righteousness” written on them. Although executions usually took place after autumn, those executed were usually insignificant commoners—nothing like the sensationality of executing eunuchs this time. Those in the front tried hard to hold back those behind, while those behind pushed forward desperately, standing on tiptoes to catch a glimpse of the execution by the deadly blade.

While the literati and refined guests gathered on the high buildings surrounding the execution ground, all discussing this rare spectacle. Some said the scene was no less dramatic than those past executions under the imperial edicts, others claimed the emperor had finally realized the need to eliminate the powerful eunuchs, and still others whispered about the looting and arrests that had taken place that night. A few even sneered sourly.
“If it were me back then, I might not have done any worse than Zhang Yuanjie!”
Amidst the chaos, the three people sitting at a table by the window railing remained silent. Wan Shijie and Xia Ji were usually the most talkative, but since Fang Jing was in a gloomy mood, they didn’t know what to say. Although the Fang brothers had finally shared their thoughts that day, Fang Rui refused to reveal his current situation and left in the end. As a result, over those four days, the capital was ransacked by the Jinyiwei and Dongchang agents, yet Fang Jing still found it interesting to watch the executions.
“A seat that normally costs just over ten coins is being sold for a whole guan today—how utterly unscrupulous!”
Wan Shijie frowned in displeasure, but then saw the three prison carts approaching below and fell quiet. Watching the crowd throw piles of rotten vegetable leaves and fruit peels at the three lifeless eunuchs, he grunted again, “Huang Yan, just an eunuch, yet his house was filled with countless pearls, gems, tens of thousands of taels of gold, and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver—deserved to die!”
No sooner had he spoken than he heard a low mutter beside him: “Will my elder brother end up like this too?”
Xia Ji was startled and quickly went over to comfort him, then he and Wan Shijie exchanged glances. So this kid had come to watch the execution not to relax or out of curiosity, but because of this? Thinking of that stubborn fellow, Wan Shijie felt furious and cursed inwardly countless times. Just as the three prisoners were led one by one to the execution ground, a pounding sound came from the stairs, followed by several strong men. Soon, an imposing old man and a young man appeared upstairs.
“Heaven!”

Wanshi Jie recognized the two people over there at a glance and couldn’t help but groan. He quickly pulled at Xia Ji’s sleeve, causing his friend to feel equally uneasy. What surprised them even more was that since the large tables upstairs were already occupied everywhere except where they were, the attendant led those people over here. In a panic, Wanshi Jie and Xia Ji hurriedly pulled the bewildered Fang Jing along, not knowing what expression to wear.

Zhu Ning followed Zhu Di and, seeing the three of them in such a state, realized they had recognized their group. She found the older man somewhat familiar and glanced at him a few times but couldn’t recall who he was, so she set the thought aside. Zhu Di glanced at the two of them and recognized Xia Ji, who had been the third-place finisher in the previous imperial examination and was now staying at the academy. He vaguely remembered Zhang Yue being on good terms with him, which made him frown slightly.

“Is executing people really that interesting? It’s rare to have a day off, yet you still come to watch? Where has the spirit of scholars gone?”

“Lord Huang, our child is curious, so we came with him to take a look,” Wanshi Jie said. Seeing Zhu Ning sit on Zhu Di’s left, and the attendant having been driven away by several strong men, they didn’t dare act too boldly. “Scholars often talk about benevolence and righteousness without seeing blood, so in critical moments, they lack decisiveness. Since the child wants to watch, we can’t stop him.”

Zhu Di examined Fang Jing for a moment before simply saying, “Sit.”

Seeing Fang Jing still frozen, Wanshi Jie quickly pulled him to sit in the lowest seat. Noticing that only the seat on the right was empty, Xia Ji cursed Wanshi Jie for being unloyal in his heart before forcing himself to sit down. Just then, a loud shout came from outside.

“Three o’clock in the afternoon—begin the execution!”

Immediately, many people turned their attention to the execution ground, including Zhu Di. When he saw the brief flash of blood, his expression remained unchanged. It was only when he heard the roaring cheers from the onlookers that his face turned cold. Although he had resolved to kill that night at Youshunmen, he had hesitated for a long time afterward. Who would have thought that old man would hoard so much—even daring to keep for himself the tributes from Korea? He was clearly the second Ji Gang!

Thinking of this, he casually said to a middle-aged man standing behind him, “Now that these three old fools are dead, your prisoners should also have been tortured enough. Execute them all in three days—leave none alive.”

Having anticipated such an outcome, Yuan Bian bowed slightly without expression and glanced once more at the pool of blood on the execution ground. Even with the emperor’s favor, if one became arrogant and made mistakes, this would be the consequence—a lesson he would surely remember firmly.