Chapter 142: Backbone
Translator: Antonia
However, this lady wasn’t a cherished girl of her parents but already a beloved one of a man.
Su Qi murmured to himself, but he resumed the old playful face, smiling as if Su Jinyu had told a hilarious joke, “There is no lady at all. Stop worrying about my marriage, brother. A few days later, I’ll go to the army. There are horses, spears, swords, clanking battles, wine and meat. That’s my world.”
Originally He had planned that once he returned to the capital, he would let the family decide a marriage for him so that they would be worrying about him all day long, but…
He touched his chest. The heart said no. It resisted for a person… He couldn’t find a way to face an unfamiliar woman and couldn’t bear it even to think of it.
Ning Shaoqing was returning, and Mo Qianxue must follow with him. He’d better avoid meeting them.
It wasn’t because he didn’t want to see her, he longed to see her like crazy. However, then what? He would only be more painful afterwards.
Su Qi smiled, but Su Jinyu felt a ghost of bitterness in that smile. He became more worried about this younger brother and more determined to help him arrange the marriage.
He turned and took a seat, taking up the fragrant tea that Alu had just sent over, saying seemingly casually, “But you’ve said that this time you come back, you’ll let grandma arrange a marriage for you. How can you leave at once?”
“…” It was their business to arrange a marriage. At most, he refused to come back by then. Anyway, the marriage was only to satisfy them.
“Brother…” Su Jinyu said seriously, “Just now I chose a wife for you, the Founder daughter. She’s pretty and tough-minded. When you’re free, go to visit her. If you like her, I’ll report to father and let grandma speak for you…”
Su Qi was a little impatient, “Whoever the girl is, I don’t care. I’ll leave in a few days anyway.”
In the yard, a messenger trotted over, whispered to Ayan, Su Jinyu’s book boy, who stood at the door, and then left.
Ayan’s face changed and stepped into the study, “Lord, this way please. I have important things to report.”
Su Jinyu said gently, “Say it here. There are no outsiders.” He had never intended to hide anything from Su Qi. Compared with letting him go to the army, he’d rather him stay at home to assist him.
When brothers work together, any difficulties can be overcome! Last time he had helped a lot in seizing over the iron mineral from the mysterious man, which helped Su Jinyu laid the foundation to become the future master.
The heir of a super-noble family didn’t follow the hereditary principle. Instead, the members of the family selected a most outstanding candidate from all the sons and then the heir took the position after a period of observation by the clan elders.
Of course, these were clan rules. In actual implementation, mostly the eldest son took over the position.
However, because of the clan rules, there were threats all around. Hence, the person who finally became a new master must boast real learnings and ability, so while a master managing the clan affairs, he would also relentlessly spend his energy in cultivating his own son.
Ayan took a glimpse at lord Su Qi, understanding what his lord meant and reporting without further hesitation, “Yes, lord. The Founder daughter started a slaughter against a dozen beggars openly on the street… Master needs you immediately…”
In shock, Su Jinyu stood up and left.
Su Qi snorted. A daring woman she was to kill on the street! However, this wouldn’t change his decision to leave in two days.
**
Mo Qianxue called the meeting at the front hall, disciplining them and setting rules, and then returned to her own room.
For those who had changed their loyalty, she would try every means to drive them away.
For those with vacillating minds, she would try to appease them. After all, loyalty couldn’t be built in a day or by a sentence.
In her room, she practiced the internal qi according the secret script that nanny had given her. She really felt a gust of qi running all over within her body like a naughty mouse and was exalted.
With time, could she also become a master of martial arts who could fly like a bird?
More haste, less speed! She practiced three times as instructed in the book and lay in bed. She needed to keep her spirits up because there would be a tough war to fight tomorrow.
She mustn’t fall!
**
In the imperial palace.
In the Jinluan Palace, the hundred officials and officers were attending the regular morning meeting in the court.
All the memorials pilling up before the Emperor had been hurriedly finished overnight, criticizing how outrageous the Founder daughter was to have killed people on the street and how disrespectful she was towards the Emperor…
Basically, the last sentence on all the memorials requested the same thing: The woman should be sentenced to death according to law in order to uphold justice and manifest the imperial dignity.
As the Emperor read one memorial, his face got a bit colder. At last, the face was as cold as bitterly freezing winter.
In a rage, the Emperor thumped on the desk before him. The low pressure filled the entire palace and scared all the others kneeling down to beg for forgiveness.
The Emperor didn’t look at them, gritting his teeth, “Take the Founder daughter here. I want to hear what she will say…”
The imperial guard took the order and took a group of others galloping to the Founder mansion.
Mo Qianxue had already dressed up and waited for the people from the palace to come.
She wore a round bun to reveal her high and broad forehead, which made her look both proud and noble, a set of light-blue clothes inside, and plain outer clothes that nanny Mo and Chuyi had made out of the three-feet white silk.
She didn’t wear white entirely because that would be an insult to the Emperor. Therefore, this look was, on the one hand, to show mourning to her parents, and on the other hand, to embarrass the Emperor by reminding him of what mistake the Empress had committed.
Since the Empress was already an enemy, then she would leave no space for her to take a breath.
The lead imperial guard, named Jiang Pu, had been worrying all the way here that Mo Qianxue had run away with her properties. If he didn’t get her to the court, then the Emperor’s rage would all be vent on him.
However, when invited in the door by the butler of the Founder mansion, he spotted Mo Qianxue at once sitting in the chair of the front hall and facing right to him.
In a daze, believing his eyes cheated him, he stood there stiff.
Which woman could be so bold not to cry or scream or scare her mind out or lie in bed pretending to be ill once committing such a crime? How could she sit there quietly drinking tea? He was afraid even a noble son could be this calm and self-composed.
But on a second thought, her calmness wasn’t because of a strong mind but silliness. This stupid woman must believe that the Emperor would forgive her because her father had saved the Emperor’s life…
What a short-sighted woman! What an emperor hated most was getting kindness from his subordinates. Her pretentious air would soon lead to her death without knowing why. The guard despised her more.
After entering the living hall, the guard leader Jiang Pu was too astonished to say anything, but Mo Qianxue stood up and said politely, “I guess officer came here on the order of his majesty.”
This man’s suit was similar to the guards that she had seen in the imperial palace but more majestic, so he must be a close guard of the Emperor.
The Emperor’s close guard couldn’t have come here for another reason.
Mo Qianxue had expected that the Emperor would summon her to meet him, so her tone was calm, expression worry-free.
The Emperor still wanted the black wooden token, so for the time being, he wouldn’t likely kill her.
However, there was always an exception to everything, so she must remain careful.
Jiang Pu, as the lead guard of the whole imperial guard team, had met all kinds of people!
At such a close distance, he easily told that her calmness wasn’t pretentious or due to silliness. At once, as he changed his mind, his attitude changed too.
Rather bully the grey-haired man than bully a poor youth.
If this woman managed to overcome this obstacle, she would be fated to be extraordinary, with whom he definitely shouldn’t be an enemy.
This was what in his mind right now.
Collecting his thought, his contempt disappeared and tone turned soft. Even if she died later, she was an admirable heroine.
“His majesty invites Miss. Mo of the Founder mansion to the imperial palace for questioning. It’s about the killing of the beggars on the street yesterday.”
In view of Jiang Pu’s kind attitude, the butler took out a few purses and gave out to all the guards present and said pleasingly, “Officer, can I ask if we could send a carriage to drive lady there?” In a critical moment, when necessary, people should put themselves in a lower position.
Being sent to the palace and taken to the palace were two different concepts.
Jiang Pu thought for a second, “His majesty only said he needed to meet Miss. Mo as soon as possible and didn’t forbid sending her in a carriage.” Usually, when the imperial guards were dispatched to catch people, they came in an aggressive posture and captured the people violently. They had never allowed allowed a carriage to be used.
However, it was alright to make an exception for such a woman. Anyway, the Emperor only said to hear her story but didn’t emphasize to capture her to the palace.
Mo Qianxue said calmly to the butler, “Arrange a driver for me.” Although her appeared to be carefree and even a little languid, there was a majesty tolerating no rejection.
The carriage was ready, and the driver was still Awu. This was to face the questioning of the Emperor, so Mo Qianxue had planned to go on her own, even without nanny Mo.
Nanny turned back and shed tears.
“Lady.” Chuyi and Shiwu kneeled before the horse carriage and insisted to go with Mo Qianxue.
“What? You even don’t listen to me?” She was still languid and insouciance, which made the two girls eyes red and dropping big tears.
It was a servant’s duty to take over the superior’s wrongdoing and die for the superior.
Mo Qianxue refused them to go with her, evidently because she didn’t want to shift the blame onto her girls and guards.
They were very touched and grateful towards lady’s protection. If the Emperor really decided to sentence her, they would by then beat the drum at court to lodge a complaint against injustice by claiming that lady had only ordered them to drive the stinky beggars away and that it was them that had used excessive violence…
It was their duty to die for their lady. They were willing to do so.
With the lead guard making the way, the trip to the imperial palace was abnormally smooth.
Standing at the gate of the Jinluan Palace, Mo Qianxue didn’t have the mood the appreciate this grand palace but only took a deep breath, waiting for the guard to report inside and start the fight.
The Emperor sat up high with the officers and officials sitting on two sides in solemnity. He was too far and Mo Qianxue couldn’t see clearly his face or expression, except for a touch of bright yellow color hanging there.
However, she saw clearly the other people’s peeking at her.
All of their expressions said the same thing: Mo Qianxue, you were dead.
“Mo Qianxue, go inside and meet his majesty!” The eunuch announced.
Mo Qianxue didn’t dare to glance around anymore, obediently entered the palace, greeted him with due courtesy.
The Emperor remained the stormy face and didn’t let Mo Qianxue get up after a long time.
He was the Emperor and here was his court. Certainly Mo Qianxue couldn’t say anything about it. She could only kneel there obediently, looking quite self-possessed.
She had only watched this kind of prehistoric creature of an emperor on TV and never met one in real life, so for now she didn’t understand his temperament.
However, she knew that the joy or rage an emperor displayed wasn’t necessarily his true feelings.
She had heard Ning Shaoqing mentioned about this emperor’s way of doing things. He wasn’t a useless and stupid fool, but on the contrary, he was a man regarding himself high.
A person thinking highly of himself wouldn’t let others easily figure out what was in his mind. When he appeared furious, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing because very likely he was only trying to scare his subordinates.
When an emperor got angry, his one gaze would be enough to let the recipient sweat and kneel down to beg for forgiveness.
The Jinluan palace was in dead silence. The Emperor, in a rage, didn’t speak, and the others didn’t dare to make a speech either. Mo Qianxue kneeling on the ground, also stayed motionless.
Mo Qianxue was waiting without any anxiety. Since she was here already, it was no use to be anxious, so she decided to take the quiet approach.
The Emperor’s purpose was to crash her calmness and courage with this unpredictably frightening atmosphere so that she would become a meek pushover.
When Mo Qianxue’s legs began to turn numb, the Emperor finally talked, “Mo Qianxue, do you plead guilty?”
“I don’t.” Mo Qianxue still kneeled there, hands on the ground. She couldn’t get up until the Emperor asked her to do so. She even shouldn’t look him in the eye.
“You look up.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
Mo Qianxue raised up her face but her eyes lowered. To look the Emperor in the eye meant a great disrespect.
However, out of corner of her eyes, she regarded him thoroughly.
This was a well-maintained man at around his early thirties, with heavy features. But for the current cruelty on his face, he should be a nice handsome uncle.
His voice was strong and hoarse, containing infinite pressure, “I ask you again. Do you plead guilty?!”
This was a psychological battle. If she changed her answer and begged for mercy, then she lost. With a terror was planted, then the person would be startled by the faintest sound with the legs turning feeble while shaking bodily.
She had read many books on psychoanalysis back in the modern time to cope with business negotiation, which also touched on the mentality of superiors.
The air one put one would decide the battle, so…
She shouldn’t be scared… She shouldn’t be so useless as to lose before the battle started.
Recollecting herself, Mo Qianxue replied loudly, “I don’t!”
The Emperor glared at her. The girl’s straight back and resolute answer reminded him of a figure.
That figure had maintained a straight back and always been righteous, never yielded or gave in, even before the Emperor.
That overwhelming pride and resolution and confidence… The woman he loved most should fall in love with another man and die for him…
Unbearable!
With a loud jarring noise, the Emperor, stormy-faced, swept all the dozens of memorials at Mo Qianxue with hatred.
A normal person would subconsciously avoid the dashing memorials.
But Mo Qianxue didn’t.
She could tell that this time he was really angry! Just at that moment, he really thought of killing her, although she didn’t know why…
She must hold on to take this blow in order to dispel the rage in his heart.
All of the memorials hit on Mo Qianxue’s head. She ached, and the next second, a warm flow of liquid dripped down along her forehead.
The bright red blood ran down her face, and the scorching pain in the forehead made her frown.
To present solemnity, the cover of those memorials were thick paper, so altogether, the memorials’ weight could be imagined when falling down.
Tick, tick. The blood flowed down…
Drop by drop, it fell on her white mourning suit like plum blossoms, but Mo Qianxue still quietly kneeled there as if she didn’t discover it at all.
She didn’t cry or beg for mercy, backbone still straight.