The Night Watcher of Great Jing - Chapter 49

Song Hongjun, heir to Marquis Ningsu’s Estate.

His name occupied a place near the right side of the bottom row of spirit tablets.

Among so many people of exalted rank and authority, the inclusion of Marquis Ningsu’s heir among the curse targets did not appear strange at first glance.

But to Shen Yan, head of the Jingning Guard’s intelligence apparatus, the difference was obvious.

Song Hongjun was Marquis Ningsu’s eldest son and had been raised according to the standards expected of an heir, with steadiness valued above all.

He had never entered government service, nor had he ever done anything improper or noteworthy.

Among a crowd of powerful court ministers, the presence of his name was itself the greatest incongruity.

Zhao Li listened carefully, lost in thought.

The hidden chamber’s arrangement seemed perfectly consistent with the motive of White Lotus Sect believers cursing the emperor and senior court officials.

But after hearing Shen Yan point out this anomaly, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.

Song Hongjun, whose name had been mixed among the others, was the true protagonist.

Everyone else was merely supporting cast!

“If we can learn Song Hongjun’s birth date, perhaps we’ll have our answer.”

“If he was born at the same time as the second Chen son’s wife, then we may have found the true target of this case.”

Zhao Li and Shen Yan looked at each other, then nodded in silent accord.

…

At dusk, the gates of Shengjing were about to close.

The bearded Gate Commandant stood atop the gate tower, one hand resting on his belt.

He was not normally so diligent, but today was different.

Since noon, the Pacification Office of the Jingning Guard had been moving with unusual frequency.

Several groups had left the city one after another.

As the watchdog guarding the capital’s threshold, the Gate Commandant was exceptionally sensitive to such movements.

Knowing a major incident might have occurred, he did not dare relax for a moment.

Sure enough, just as the gate was about to close, a company of riders appeared on the central imperial avenue.

Hooves thundered. Dust billowed behind them.

The Gate Commandant’s heart jolted.

The imperial avenue through the city was not a road anyone could use as they pleased, much less gallop across.

He immediately rushed down from the tower, shouting, “Move the barricades! Open the gate!”

In the blink of an eye, the riders drew near.

At their head, a man rode with red silk tied to his horse’s bridle and held a badge high to clear the road.

The Gate Commandant’s heart shuddered.

These were the Jingning Guard’s Scarlet Riders.

Behind the man clearing the road, he saw someone in a crimson Flying Fish Robe.

Only one person in the Jingning Guard possessed the right to wear that pattern—Commander-in-Chief Shen Yan.

The Gate Commandant hurriedly waved the soldiers aside.

The moment the road opened, the riders thundered past without slowing.

The Gate Commandant received a mouthful of dust but did not complain. He stared blankly at one small figure among the mounted party.

Only after a long while did he spit the grit from his mouth several times, then shiver violently.

Something enormous had happened!

A sorcery case involving the emperor and half the ministers at court had grown far beyond a simple abduction case.

Shen Yan ordered the village surrounded and the pickling workshop guarded securely.

Then he and Zhao Li rode at full speed back to the capital to see Emperor Longqing.

Their horses were given clear passage all the way into the imperial city.

Shen Yan took the dust-covered Zhao Li alone through Fengtian Gate. Led by a eunuch, they hurried toward a side hall beside the Hall of Diligent Governance.

“Lord Shen, His Majesty summons you,” a smiling old eunuch said.

“Thank you, Eunuch Zhang.”

Shen Yan took a step, then stopped.

Zhao Li was studying the carved ceiling beams and marveling at the craftsmanship.

“A-Li, remain here. Do not wander.”

“There is no need to be afraid. Simply wait until His Majesty summons you.”

Only after Zhao Li obediently nodded did Shen Yan leave, reassured.

Eunuch Zhang, who had led them there, showed a hint of curiosity.

Zhao Li was certainly interested in seeing what an ancient imperial palace looked like, but she would never wander about without a sense of propriety.

After galloping the entire way on her still-inadequate riding skills, the insides of her thighs burned where the saddle had rubbed them.

Once Shen Yan left, Zhao Li sat obediently on a stool and waited.

After some thought, she took the spun-sugar candy from inside her robe. She ate while examining an ivory ornament on the table.

The candy had melted somewhat against her body and had become rather cloying.

After she ate two pieces, someone offered her a cup of tea.

Zhao Li stared and looked up.

A warm, cultured, and remarkably handsome middle-aged man watched her kindly.

He wore a eunuch’s robes. Zhao Li did not know who he was, but anyone who could walk freely through the palace was plainly no ordinary person.

She hurriedly rose and accepted the tea with both hands.

“Thank you.”

Shen Zhixing seemed lost in thought, then suddenly smiled.

“There is no need to be nervous.”

She was such a small, obedient thing. The sight of her sitting there eating candy was indeed endearing.

Shen Zhixing looked at her with a smile.

“Come. His Majesty summons you.”

In truth, the emperor did not need Shen Zhixing to personally fetch a mere Hundred-Household Commander.

He had simply wanted to see the young woman who kept his nephew at the Pacification Office every day and away from home.

“Yes.”

Zhao Li hurried to her feet and followed him, wiping the soybean powder from her face with her sleeve.

They entered the Hall of Diligent Governance.

Compared with the cold, gloomy side hall, the main hall blazed with light.

Several people stood inside.

Zhao Li swept her gaze around. Apart from Shen Yan, five or six old men stood in a row. She had met three of them and kicked one.

Once she thought of it that way, most of her nervousness about meeting a feudal emperor disappeared.

“Zhao Li greets Your Majesty.”

She had only begun to bow when a gentle voice came from the distance.

“There is no need for excessive ceremony.”

Emperor Longqing stood above them.

Obsessed with pursuing immortality and studying the Dao, he had long wanted to summon this young woman who had awakened wisdom from a previous life.

“Hundred-Household Commander Zhao, rise and answer.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“A-Yan has explained the general circumstances. Tell me—what should be done?” Emperor Longqing asked.

Zhao Li organized her thoughts.

“If our deduction is correct, the heir to Marquis Ningsu’s Estate is the primary target.”

“We need to compare his birth date to confirm that.”

Emperor Longqing did not hesitate. He ordered an attendant to retrieve the record.

The births and appearances of noble sons expected to inherit hereditary titles were documented within the palace to prevent any substitution of heirs.

The Eight Characters were soon delivered to Zhao Li.

One glance told her they were right.

The principal target of this entire affair was indeed Song Hongjun, heir to Marquis Ningsu’s Estate.

The dead always envied the living.

The Mother-and-Child Bane in the hidden chamber would first direct its conflicting baleful energy toward someone born on exactly the same year, month, and day—not toward any of the others.

That was why the scar-faced man had specifically chosen the second Chen son’s wife to create the Mother-and-Child Bane.

The children had been abducted because Song Hongjun’s birthday was near.

On that day, the scar-faced man planned to harvest living souls through a heretical ritual, agitate the Mother-and-Child Bane into fury, and curse Song Hongjun to death.

“Your Majesty, the birth date of Marquis Ningsu’s heir is identical to that of the second Chen son’s wife. We can confirm that he is the target.”

Zhao Li presented the Chen family’s marriage certificate to Emperor Longqing.

His face turned livid as he read it.