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墨書 Inktalez
(Laundry House)? Li Hong frowned in confusion; what clothes could possibly need washing in such a frigid place?
The sounds from the front room grew increasingly brazen. Listening closely, he realized that many rooms in the back courtyard were filled with such unbearable noises. Li Hong gradually understood, his brows furrowing higher as anger surged within him once more.
What Laundry House! Shameless Golden Dogs!
He snorted coldly and stepped into the front room. The Golden Dogs were still enjoying themselves when a cold wind suddenly swept in behind them, chilling them to the bone. They froze in place, their eyes wide open, lifeless.
Several Song Women sensed something was wrong. When they opened their eyes, they were met with the sight of a face staring at them like a dead fish, scaring them so much that they were about to scream, only to feel a jolt throughout their bodies and faint immediately.
Chuxuan pulled Wu Qingyu and Feng Zhongxun into the front room.
Wu Qingyu and Feng Zhongxun quickly scanned the entire situation in the front room. They exchanged glances and suddenly knelt solemnly before Li Hong and Chuxuan. Wu Qingyu whispered, "We have endured for so many years and finally awaited someone from the South. We do not dare to hope for a return to our homeland, but for the matter concerning the Celestial Master, we would gladly die."
Li Hong held a deep respect for them and hurried to help them up, saying, "Please rise and speak."
"Please do not inform the South Official Family about what has happened here; know that the face of the Song Dynasty is paramount! If there is an opportunity to meet our descendants, please tell them that we have always been loyal to the Song Dynasty, without regret or remorse! Celestial Master, please hurry inside to save the Empress; she must have something to say. Leave this to us." As they spoke, they stood up and forcefully pushed Li Hong and Chuxuan out of the front room.
The door closed behind them.
Li Hong had barely taken a few steps when he felt something was off. He turned around to push the door open, but it had already been locked from the inside.
Suddenly, there were loud thuds; Li Hong was alarmed and broke down the door to rush inside, only to be stunned by the scene before him.
Wu Qingyu and Feng Zhongxun each held a golden waist knife, thick blood slowly dripping from their blades. They turned around numbly, letting their long knives clatter to the ground. They said mournfully, "What are we still alive for? To bring shame upon the Song Dynasty Ruler? Celestial Master, do not blame us for our recklessness; we have long wanted to do this!"
Several Song Women had deep gashes across their chests and abdomens, blood gushing forth. Their limbs twitched uncontrollably; their throats made raspy sounds but could no longer be saved. Their white legs kicked out violently twice before their eyes rolled back as their souls departed.
Looking at the bed soaked in blood and the pale corpse, Li Hong was stunned for a moment before rushing over and kicking the two men fiercely. "How could you kill them! They were innocent!"
Wu Qingyu and the other man knelt down without resistance, trembling as they said, "Please, Celestial Master, kill us to atone for their lives!"
"Don't waste time!" Chuxuan entered coldly. "What they said is right; what good is living? Are we going to disgrace the Song Dynasty? Killing is killing; we have things to do."
"You!" Li Hong turned sharply to glare at Chuxuan.
"Enough, Senior Brother," Chuxuan said impatiently. "They're just a few fallen princesses. Do you really want to kill Wu Qingyu and Feng Zhongxun for them? How about this: leave Empress Xing to me, and I'll go rescue her. You head west to save Uncle Emperor. We'll split up; let's meet fifty miles south of the city after it's done. Hurry up; if we delay any longer, the Demon will discover us, and we won't be able to do anything."
This was indeed a good plan, and Li Hong nodded in frustration. This place was filled with the despairing cries of unfortunate Song women, and who knew what else he would see behind them? Staying here was truly unbearable; it was better to fight hard to save Zhao Huan. He turned into a beam of golden light and sped toward the west of the city.
Once Li Hong's figure completely vanished, Chuxuan's expression suddenly turned extremely cold. He sneered, "You two did well in killing! Stop kneeling; get up quickly, I have something to say!"
Wu Qingyu and Feng Zhongxun nervously stood up. Feng Zhongxun stammered, "Does the Young Master blame us?"
Chuxuan laughed coldly. "All I hear is the sound of debauchery! Hmph! What Laundry House? It's just a brothel! The women here are either Imperial Princesses or Princesses; if not that, they are Prime Minister's Daughters or concubines. Now they are all playthings for the Golden Dog! Our Song Dynasty's noble ladies fall into enemy hands and forget their chastity, each one trying to please the Jin people just to survive like dogs, willingly letting themselves be ridden by them. I wouldn't feel sorry if ten thousand of such women died. You two! Go inside and kill them all; if you wipe them out, I promise to take you out of Five Nations City!" Chuxuan sneered, his handsome face twisting more with each word.
Wu Qingyu and Feng Zhongxun felt invigorated by his words, picking up bloody long knives and charging inside. But Chuxuan coldly ordered, "Wait! You two follow me; take them one by one. Don't make too much noise; I'll handle the Golden Dog."
"Understood!"
The three moved silently from room to room. After finishing in the first courtyard, a heavy scent of blood began to fill the cold air. The long knives in Wu Qingyu and Feng Zhongxun's hands were already stained with blood, leaving a trail of thick crimson droplets on the white snow as they moved.
They passed through Corner Gate toward the second courtyard.
There were not many people in the second courtyard, and there were no unbearable sounds of debauchery; all the rooms were quiet.
Wu Qingyu pointed toward a room in the center, and Chuxuan understood that was where Empress Xing was staying. Seeing that she had not been touched by the Golden Dog, Chuxuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He gestured for Wu Qingyu and Feng Zhongxun to stay outside, then leaped to the front of the Empress's door and gently knocked. The door creaked open in response.
All the women's rooms here lacked locks, allowing the Golden Dog to come and go freely. To his surprise, the Empress's room was also unlatched, and a surge of killing intent rose from Chuxuan's chest.
Inside the room, there was a heated bed, not too cold. Chuxuan saw a frail woman sitting alone on the bed, wrapped in a quilt. She had her back to the door, and upon hearing someone enter, she coldly said, "Get out!"
Chuxuan closed the door behind him and noticed an oil lamp on the table. He flicked his finger, and a small flame shot out from it, igniting the lamp.
The Empress turned around. Chuxuan saw a pale and haggard face.
This former wife of Prince Kang had become unrecognizable; she was extremely thin, her delicate bones almost piercing through her thin, veiny white skin. Her once thick black hair had turned gray and was half-bald. Her eyes were sunken with deep wrinkles at the corners; the beautiful woman he once knew was gone, replaced by a frail and sorrowful old woman.
She was only in her early thirties, which made Chuxuan feel a pang of sorrow in his heart, but he quickly hardened his expression.
In her hand, the Empress held something—a pair of embroidered tiger head shoes meant for a small child. Upon seeing Chuxuan, she clearly froze, unable to discern his identity, yet instinctively tightened her grip on the tiny shoes.
This action infuriated Chuxuan even more.
"You have lost your virtue! And you have a bastard!"
"Who are you?" The Empress asked tremulously, her eyes lighting up. "You speak Han language; are you one of the Song people?"
"You can't even recognize me! Auntie, it's been a while," Chuxuan mocked.
The Empress looked at him with confusion, gradually trembling as she realized: "You are Prince of Yun! No, I saw his corpse with my own eyes; you... are Crown Prince of Yun?"
"The sixth son of Prince of Yun, National Guardian Master Chuxuan of this dynasty, has come to rescue you on orders from South Uncle Emperor," Chuxuan said with a cold smile. "It seems it's unnecessary; you are not even the Empress anymore."
He no longer wished to stay there and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Xing Hou rushed down from the bed, "Is he alright? I pray every day for someone from the Official Family to come. Could it be that heaven has shown mercy and truly heard my nightly cries?"
Chuxuan stood firm, slowly turning around to meet Xing Hou's gaze: "Do you still have the face to cry?"
Xing Hou trembled all over, and after a moment, suddenly broke into a sorrowful smile. In that instant, the radiant beauty from years ago seemed to return.
She whispered, "I cry every night until my tears run dry, until my body is ruined. I keep this frail body alive only to tell the Official Family one thing. I, Xing Bingyi, am a person of the Official Family in life and a ghost of the Official Family in death. I hope they can soon recover our Homeland and avenge me and all my sisters who have suffered this Sea of Blood deep grudge. My wish is fulfilled; you may act now."
The Embroidered Tiger Head Shoes slipped from Xing Hou's hand as she quietly closed her eyes: "Do it; I can already smell the Blood Scent from the front courtyard."
Chuxuan remained silent for a while before suddenly asking, "Whose child?"
The question seemed out of place, but Xing Hou understood immediately. She opened her eyes wide: "What do you want to do?"
"Shouldn't a bastard like that be left in this world to bring shame?"
"No! Don't kill him! The child is innocent!" Xing Hou exclaimed in terror.
"So," Chuxuan sneered coldly, "you might as well put away your pretentious words. Don't come to me with false righteousness. If I don't kill you, I'll let your wretched life make you regret day and night! If you hadn't lost your virtue, if you hadn't given birth to this bastard, I could have taken you away right now, back to the South where you could continue enjoying wealth and power as the Empress! But unfortunately, you no longer have that chance."
Xing Hou replied despondently, "I don't care about being an Empress; I don't want you to take me away. The world is vast, but I have no place to belong anymore. That saying is indeed true; my sisters and I all think this way: may we never be born into the Imperial Family again, and may we never marry a prince or noble!"
She softly recited:
"The flag is lowered in King's City; how would I know in the depths of the palace! One hundred forty thousand men lay down their armor, and not a single one is a man!"
Chuxuan could no longer bear to face her; he truly couldn't bring himself to act and turned away once more.
But Xing Hou called out: "Wait, don't you want to know what happened to your mother and Empress Wei?"
Chuxuan suddenly turned around, hardly believing his ears. "Mother? My mother is still alive?"
Xinghou did not answer but took off an earring from his ear and handed it to Chuxuan. "This is the betrothal gift from the Official Family when I was appointed as their consort. I have worn this pair of Eight Treasures Gold Rings for many years and have never taken them off. Please take this one to the Official Family and tell him that I am already dead. If he has feelings for me, please have him build a tomb for me and bury this gold ring in it. Now my heart is at peace; I only wish for a swift death, so my soul can return to the South."
"My heart is clean; this unclean body should remain here."
Chuxuan silently accepted it; the gold ring was burning hot, and his heart was even more unsettled, doubts bubbling up within him.
"Empress Wei is not here; she is in the capital of Jin Kingdom. She is also powerless in this situation. I hope the Official Family does not blame her. If there is a chance, please tell the Official Family to ensure she returns to the South; that is our true home." Xinghou picked up the Embroidered Tiger Head Shoes that had fallen on the ground, turned back to the kang, and finally said, "Your mother is here; she originally lived next door to me, but she was taken away by the Jin people this evening."
"Where did they take her?" Chuxuan asked in a low voice.
"To the Central Command Office."
Chuxuan felt as if struck by lightning; it really was her! Wasn't she dead?! Why was she still alive?! He abruptly turned and rushed out of the room, swiftly heading towards the Central Command Office.
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