Chapter 390: Spare My Life

Chapter 390: Spare My Life

Social death.

This was the first term that flashed through Xianjin's mind.

If a funeral is held, it is assumed that the person has disappeared from the world. Who would acknowledge their identity when they reappear?

Xianjin said, "Planning to take the sea route? To Japan?"

When traveling out of the Bohai Bay, Goguryeo is the first choice, followed by Japan—it must be Japan. Japan, recently hit by Great Wei's trade sanctions, would surely value this opportunity. In contrast, the ever-compliant and pragmatic Goguryeo wouldn't be as necessary for Emperor Zhaode.

"Of course, by sea..." Emperor Zhaode's voice suddenly stopped, and he looked at Xianjin with a smile: "Where I am going seems to have nothing to do with my niece, does it?"

Emperor Zhaode waved his hand, and the shadow guards beside him immediately appeared, taking Xianjin away.

Xianjin was effectively imprisoned, and the conditions were not good. She was kept in a cellar with an opening in the ceiling sealed by iron bars. The earthen walls and mud floor shed dust incessantly. When Xianjin lay down at night, she would wake up the next day with her face covered in a layer of yellow dust.

Xianjin looked up and could vaguely see the sky through the gaps. At night, when the sky turned completely dark, a rhythmic vibration would come from the ground.

It sounded like the vibrations caused by the synchronized marching of a large force.

Unlike a disorganized mob of a hundred or two.

More like a thousand-strong elite force.

These must be Emperor Zhaode's last remaining cards.

He plans to use these cards to escape.

And before he escapes, he will definitely eliminate her.

Early the next morning, a shadow guard covered in black cloth broke in and silently but roughly removed the jade ring from her hand.

On the third morning, what was taken was an empty silk sachet hidden in Xianjin's clothes—the shadow guard's hand moved to search her clothes, but halted at Xianjin's calm, icy laugh: "You can try to reach in—even though I am now a prisoner, I still carry the blood of the Xu clan. On the day I am killed, I will ask my uncle for a guard to accompany me in death. Do you think he will agree or not?"

The shadow guard hesitated, growing more suspicious that Xianjin was concealing something in her garments. He immediately called for an elderly servant to close the door and check.

The elderly servant came out holding an empty silk sachet.

"Nothing?" Emperor Zhaode looked at the sachet.

The shadow guard shook his head, succinctly saying: "There was nothing else on Lady He besides this sachet; and there was nothing inside the sachet either."

Emperor Zhaode frowned: "Don't call her Lady He, she is of my Xu clan's bloodline."

The shadow guard, recalling the earlier threat, felt a sense of relief.

He then took the sachet, and before opening it, he smelled a scent of earth... and a salty smell?

Emperor Zhaode asked, "What's with this sachet?"

The shadow guard bowed his head: "The princess... said this was a sachet that Lord Zhongwu always carried with him..."

Emperor Zhaode disgustedly threw it away: No wonder it reeks—it's soaked in sweat!

"Send it over—once you go, head north. There are small boats waiting for you at Jiaozhou Bay. Remember, do not look back, and under no circumstances reveal our hiding place!" Emperor Zhaode emphasized.

For three consecutive days, from the back of Mount Daobei in Jinzhou Prefecture to the Capital City, swift horses raced through the dark night. Once anyone crossed the iron-spiked gate at the camp's entrance, there was no turning back.

Emperor Zhaode was well aware that his current audacity in kidnapping Xianjin and defying his elder sister was not due to the two thousand elite soldiers, but because he was well hidden—hidden so well that even the most timid dog would dare to bark.

This stronghold must be held at all costs; it cannot afford any mistakes.

On the evening of the third day, Xianjin stood under the iron bars, observing the depth of the night. She waited a long time but did not feel the familiar tremors beneath her feet.

Xianjin tilted her head back and swallowed hard.

If the troops weren’t drilling, there were only two possibilities: either they were preparing for battle, or they were retreating.

Not long after, torches were lit one by one above the cellar. The brightest torch stopped above the iron bars, followed by the unlocking of the door. Two burly, apron-clad women slid down the opening, one on each side, lifting Xianjin to the ground. One pinned Xianjin's neck while the other gripped her hands tightly, escorting her all the way to the fortress at the entrance of the camp.

From above, Emperor Zhaode, cloaked, stood inside the earthen wall. Hearing the commotion, he turned and waved excitedly at Xianjin: "You're here? Come, come forward!"

The women behind Xianjin released her hands and neck.

Xianjin walked to stand beside Emperor Zhaode, looking down at the bustling scene below. The ground was bustling with carriages and bright lights, with dozens of carriages being loaded with goods and people. Four or five women dressed as palace concubines and seven or eight children of various ages boarded the carriages in groups.

Empress Lu, dressed in a nun's robe, led the trembling Feng Yuanyuan towards the last carriage.

As they approached, Feng Yuanyuan suddenly turned and bolted, shouting, "I won't go to Japan! I won't go! I am a noblewoman of Great Wei! When the sage reclaims the throne, I will be the most esteemed noblewoman. Why should I leave my homeland? I won't go!"

Feng Yuanyuan's escape caused a commotion.

"In an instant, an arrow pierced Feng Yuanyuan's chest!"

The noise below the fortress abruptly ceased.

Feng Yuanyuan slowly fell to the ground, the bright red stain on her chest clearly visible. Empress Lu paused for a moment, glanced down, then calmly supported herself on the carriage wheel, lifted the curtain, and entered the carriage.

Xianjin glanced sideways, calmly looking at Emperor Zhaode, who held a bow, and softly said, "She was just a deceived little girl, who only realized her fear after doing bad things. Why did you have to kill her?"

Emperor Zhaode smiled with a mix of honesty and compassion, raising his hand. A servant behind him brought forward a red lacquered tray with a bowl on it.

Inside the bowl, a dark, shiny liquid sloshed around.

Emperor Zhaode's tone was filled with pity: "This morning, the Xiaowang residence hung white banners, played the suona, and invited the abbot to chant sutras—drink this. I specifically had the imperial physician select a good medicine. It won't hurt or taste bitter; it will be like falling asleep. I heard your mother bled from all seven orifices and died with her eyes wide open after drinking the medicine. Rest assured, you will die more peacefully and comfortably than your mother and this girl."

Xianjin smiled: "If the medicine is so good, you should keep it for yourself. It would make me seem more filial."

Emperor Zhaode also smiled: "Sharp-tongued, I wonder who you take after—your father only knew how to rage impotently, your elder sister is straightforward and bold, and your mother was a delicate woman who spoke softly as if afraid to startle a mosquito... Oh, indeed, one takes after their upbringing. I remember Consort Gao's sister was a very quick-tongued woman."

Emperor Zhaode raised his hand again, and the women on either side stepped forward, expertly grabbing Xianjin's arms. Their large hands clamped down on Xianjin's jaw, and the rim of the bowl slowly approached her lips.

Xianjin struggled, but she was immobilized.

Yet she could still speak, albeit indistinctly.

"If I were you, I would spare my life—at least wait, and you could use me as a hostage to negotiate with those who come."