Chapter 179: 179. Live Burial, Deposed Crown Prince
Translator: 549690339
Su Liang returned home as it was getting dark, and Yang Yu was preparing dinner.
“You’re back?” Yang Yu put down the spoon and turned around to greet him, “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” said Su Liang with a smile. “For now, someone is safe. But the next part of the show is more critical. I hope he can hold on.”
Su Liang washed his hands and cooked with Yang Yu, telling him what happened after she went to the palace.
Yang Yu marveled at Su Liang’s intelligence. “You’re amazing! You managed to kill without a trace!”
By now, Duanmu Cheng must be in quite a panic.
“Xiao Nian did a good job assisting,” said Su Liang.
“But…” Yang Yu looked worried, “Even if the emperor learns that the crown prince had an affair with the second prince’s wife, no matter who killed your family – the crown prince or the second prince – the emperor won’t let his son pay with his life, right?”
Yang Yu felt that Su Liang was exceptional, but how could the emperor let his son die for the grievances of commoners?
Su Liang remained calm, “Indeed.”
Yang Yu stopped cutting vegetables for a moment, “Then what should we do?
You know you’re openly hostile to both the crown prince and the second prince. If the emperor tries to protect his sons, he might…”
“Kill me,” Su Liang smiled faintly.
Yang Yu sighed repeatedly, “You know that? And still, you smile? Having made such a big fuss, how will you end it? What if the emperor really wants to get rid of you?”
Su Liang was unfazed. “My relationship with Duanmu Cheng and Duanmu Ao is doomed to be mutually mortal. If the emperor wants to get rid of me, I’ll run away and secretly kill both of his sons.”
Listening to Su Liang’s nonchalant words, Yang Yu felt chills. “You say it so easily; it’s very dangerous!”
“Dangerous…” Su Liang chuckled lightly, “I trust my intuition. If I’m in danger, I’ll be careful.”
It wasn’t her intuition she believed in, but Ning Jing’s special ability. If her life was in danger, Ning Jing would foresee it.
Su Liang believed she was innocent, and following the “rules,” she hardly expected a situation where someone tried to kill her, she couldn’t escape, and Ning Jing failed to see it coming.
Yang Yu looked helpless, “I trust you, of course, but I still think this is too risky. Why don’t you hide yourselves before anything happens? That way, you’ll have more control over what you do next.”
Su Liang shook her head, “We can’t hide forever. Let’s see what the emperor will do.”
Seeing that he couldn’t persuade Su Liang, Yang Yu gave up but still felt uneasy.
After dinner, Ning Jing went to send Zhengzheng home, and Su Liang went to see Duanmu Ao again.
Duanmu Ao was slumped on the ground, his mouth gagged, his eyes filled with resentment as he stared at Su Liang.
Su Liang removed the cloth gagging Duanmu Ao’s mouth, and he started to cough heavily.
Su Liang sat down not far away, looking at him indifferently. “No water to drink and no food to eat; It seems pretty good to starve you to death. How do you feel?”
“You bitch! You must have eaten the heart of a ferocious beast! If I die, you’ll be buried with me!” Duanmu Ao gritted his teeth.
Su Liang scoffed, “You have quite a spirit. It seems I’ve been too lenient with you.”
As Su Liang brought out the whip she had used the night before, Duanmu Ao trembled, clearly reminded of the terror he had experienced under the whip’s control.
Su Liang tightened the whip around Duanmu Ao’s neck again, making it difficult for him to breathe but not suffocating him, as she watched him struggle in pain.
“Today, I went to the palace. You must be eager to know what happened,” Su Liang smiled and recounted the events in the palace to Duanmu Ao.
“I think your dear brother, who put a green hat on you, must regret not killing me sooner, and he must also regret not getting rid of you earlier.” Su Liang looked at Duanmu Ao and said, “But in fact, I think, back then, the one you should have killed the most was your royal brother, the crown prince. He did such a thing, and you actually put up with it, I really admire it.”
As he finished speaking, Su Liang’s whip in his hand loosened a bit.
After a cough, Duanmu Ao suddenly burst into laughter, “Don’t be smug! Do you really think that our father, the emperor, will learn that it was Duanmu Cheng and Xiao Mulian who had affair, and that the people of the Su Family were killed by us, and that he would care about a group of ants like your Su Family and punish me and Duanmu Cheng?”
Su Liang’s expression darkened.
Seeing this, Duanmu Ao sneered, “Don’t be naive! So what if you are the Martial Arts Champion? Even if you have achieved great military merits, what about it? A lowly commoner is still a lowly commoner; don’t tell me that just because you have great abilities, you think your life can be compared with ours? No matter how much our father values you, he only treats you as a dog that loyally serves the Qian Country’s royal family! You even considered yourself as a person! Hahaha!”
Su Liang’s eyes were icy cold, and he remained silent.
Duanmu Ao laughed coldly in succession, “Do you think your plan is clever? Letting our father know about the shameful deeds Duanmu Cheng had done back then, and he will seek justice for you? Ridiculous! For the sake of the royal family’s face, our father will choose to kill you instead of doing anything to me and Duanmu Cheng!”
Su Liang suddenly stood up, approached Duanmu Ao, and fiercely squeezed his neck, “Have you forgotten where you are?”
However, Duanmu Ao seemed to have suddenly gained confidence, stared at Su Liang with wide eyes, and said intermittently, “You dare… kill me… you won’t…
live either… keeping me… is your only chance… to survive…” Su Liang loosened the whip, and Duanmu Ao couldn’t stop coughing.
“It’s a pity that you consider yourself smart, but unfortunately, you can’t recognize your own status. Hahaha!” Duanmu Ao looked at Su Liang’s ugly face and burst into laughter again.
Su Liang sat down with a cold face and said, “I originally thought the Emperor would be a wise ruler, but you should know him better than I do.”
Duanmu Ao snorted, “So you know it!”
“If I want to leave now, I’m afraid it’s already too late.” Su Liang’s face was gloomy, “If you don’t want me to chop off your arms and legs when I take you hostage, tell me, why did you invite my grandfather to treat Xiao Mulian back then?”
Duanmu Ao sneered, “Now that things have come to this, there’s no harm in telling you. I knew Xiao Mulian was pregnant with a bastard that day, and since she didn’t admit it, I sent someone to invite your grandfather to take her pulse. I didn’t think much at the time; it’s not like I could ask the Imperial Physician, as that would have exposed the matter. This incident is all that cheap slut Xiao Mulian’s fault. If it wasn’t for her shameless actions, your grandfather wouldn’t have been involved!”
“And then?” Su Liang asked coldly.
According to Prime Minister Xiao Qi, three days had passed between the time Duanmu Ao caught Xiao Mulian cheating and when she suddenly died.
“When I finally pried open Xiao Mulian’s mouth and found out who her lover was, and confronted Duanmu Cheng, I said that Xiao Mulian must die. Duanmu Cheng didn’t object at all, and even promised to give me his favorite concubine for a few months as compensation. Hahaha!” Duanmu Ao laughed wickedly, “In order to let Xiao Mulian die, we needed an excuse, and your poor grandfather just happened to be the unlucky one who knew something he shouldn’t have known! Who could have expected that he was just a commoner? An insignificant ant that no one cared about; if he died, he died! Unfortunately, the person sent by Duanmu Cheng back then didn’t kill you completely!”
Su Liang’s heart sank heavily, “My grandfather did not witness Duanmu Cheng and Xiao Mulian’s affair at Changchun Garden, you invited my grandfather to take her pulse because vou wanted to confirm Xiao Mulian’s Dregnancv. He
knew she was pregnant, but he didn’t know about Duanmu Cheng and Xiao Mulian’s affair, why were you so cruel to him?”
Looking at the anger in Su Liang’s eyes, Duanmu Ao sneered, “No reason, it was Duanmu Cheng who said that Xiao Mulian had to die, and that the matter couldn’t be made public, so we needed a scapegoat. He chose your grandfather and said that your whole family had to be silenced!”
“Who were the ones who did it?” Su Liang asked coldly.
‘Everyone involved, except me and Duanmu Cheng, has been silenced. It’s a pity that you slipped through the net!” Duanmu Ao said coldly, “I dare to tell you these things because I want to let you know that even if you know the truth, it’s useless! With your little skills, you’re deluded if you think you can fight against the royal family. What fairness and justice? Simply laughable! To be honest, every time I think about Xiao Mulian’s affairs in the past two years, I wish I could kill Duanmu Cheng, but I don’t have a chance! The mistake back then was all on that pair of adulterers. I just stood by, but I didn’t have a choice! Let’s cooperate, and I’ll be your hostage to escape. As long as you don’t hurt me, I’ll get rid of Duanmu Cheng sooner or later so that you can avenge your family! ”
Su Liang remained silent, staring steadily at Duanmu Ao.
As Duanmu Ao calmed down a little, facing Su Liang’s gaze, he suddenly felt a
chill in his heart…
“I discovered that I underestimated you,” Su Liang said coldly, “You do have some brains.”
Duanmu Ao’s face stiffened, “What do you mean? Everything I just said is true!” Su Liang shook his head, “Is it? I don’t believe it.”
“You better believe it, don’t be naive and think our father will stand on your side!” Duanmu Ao snorted. At this moment, Ning Jing walked in.
“Help me with something,” Su Liang said.
Ning Jing nodded slightly.
“Take him to the Su Family’s tomb, dig a hole, and bury him alive.” Su Liang said expressionlessly.
Duanmu Ao stared in disbelief, “You…dare?!”
Su Liang grabbed a stool and smashed it on Duanmu Ao’s head repeatedly, causing him to bleed profusely. ‘You think you’re noble, huh? My family are just ants? Let’s see how many lives your nobility has!”
The stool was broken, and Ning Jing frowned, “We need to fix that. Use a rock next time.”
Duanmu Ao’s face was bruised and bloody, and he was no longer arrogant, shivering and saying repeatedly, “I’m useful to you, you can’t kill me…”
“Your greatest use to me is allowing you to die horribly to avenge my family’s souls!” Su Liang said coldly.
During the quiet of the night.
Ning Jing carried a sack, silently leaving the city, climbing Wangxiang Mountain, and stopped at the Su Family’s tomb.
He picked a vacant spot between several graves, dropped the sack, and began to dig a hole.
After digging a deep hole, Ning Jing untied the sack and kicked Duanmu Ao, who was bound hand and foot with a gag in his mouth, down into it.
Duanmu Ao struggled at the bottom of the hole but couldn’t make any sound or get up. His terrified eyes glowed in the darkness.
Instead of burying the dirt back, Ning Jing cut some branches and made a cage-like cover, covering it with grass and leaves, and then scattering the dug-out soil over the nearby graves.
After doing all this, Ning Jing returned to the side of the hole, adjusted the position of two tufts of grass, and ensured that Duanmu Ao below could see a glimmer of light.
But because of the location Ning Jing chose, it was practically impossible for anyone to come, even if someone passed by or walked over the hole, it would De cnrncult to nonce tnat tnere was someone DelOW.
“You,” Ning Jing said to Duanmu Ao at the bottom of the hole, “enjoy yourself slowly.”
As he spoke, he cleared the traces around him and left down the mountain.
When he returned home, Su Liang hadn’t slept yet and was copying books under the lamp.
“Do you think the emperor will choose to get rid of me in order to protect his two sons?” Su Liang asked.
Ning Jing shook his head, “No.”
“Do you think he is a wise monarch?” Su Liang asked.
Ning Jing shook his head again, “He’s not foolish.”
“That’s good. Otherwise, I’d have to start planning an escape route.” Su Liang yawned and said, “Let’s sleep, good night.’
The next day was Old Master Qin’s birthday.
Three days ago, Qin Yujin had sent Su Liang an invitation at Huguo Temple.
But with so many things happening in the past two days, Su Liang had forgotten, and it was only thanks to Ning Jing’s reminder that he remembered they hadn’t prepared a birthday gift for Old Master Qin yet.
Su Liang told Ning Jing to bring out a box of tea leaves that couldn’t be bought from his place, as a gift from both of them.
After all, outsiders now considered them as a couple.
Yang Yu didn’t go, instead going to the shop to check the account books.
Before Su Liang and Ning Jing could leave, Xing Yusheng arrived and immediately asked, “Have you heard?”
Su Liang answered with a question, “What?”
“You don’t know?” Xing Yusheng sat down, his shock not yet gone, “The emperor suddenly deposed the crown prince! The court is in chaos! No one knows what exactly happened! Ning Jing, didn’t you attend the morning court session today?”
Ning Jing shook his head, “I’m too low-ranked and don’t have the qualifications.”
“My father went!” Xing Yusheng looked at Ning Jing and Su Liang, lowering his voice, “Is the crown prince’s deposition…due to something you’ve done behind the scenes?”
Su Liang scoffed, “Xing, what do you mean? We only started our official positions yesterday, and I’m just a humble deputy general. Ning Jing isn’t even qualified to attend the morning court session, what nonsense are you talking about?”
Xing Yusheng coughed lightly, “I didn’t mean anything else. When I heard about the crown prince’s deposition, I had an intuition that it might be related to you… oh no, it might be connected to you.”
“Why don’t you suspect it’s related to your father?” Su Liang retorted. Xing Yusheng shook his head, ‘My father’s courage is no match for yours.”
Although Su Liang denied it, Xing Yusheng still felt that there must be some unknown reason for Duanmu Cheng’s sudden dismissal. Even if Su Liang and Ning Jing didn’t do anything behind the scenes, they must know something.
Xing Yusheng was curious but didn’t ask further. There are some things that are safer not to know.
Today, my grandfather is having his birthday. You’re all going, right?” Xing Yusheng asked.
“Did you come to pick us up to go together?” Su Liang asked back.
Xing Yusheng smiled and got up, “I just happened to pass by your house, so I came in to take a look. I have to go pick up Qingqing now.”
After Xing Yusheng left, Yang Yu closed the door, took a deep breath, and said,
“The emperor deposed the crown prince, it seems he wants to stand up for the Su Family.”
However, Su Liang shook his head, “The root of Duanmu Cheng’s dismissal lies
not in his messing with male-female relations but in him being a waste.”
Yang Yu was stunned.
Su Liang remained calm, “The emperor has been giving Duanmu Chen opportunities to showcase his talents, and he has seized them. I thought Duanmu Chen’s ascent to power wouldn’t be easy, given the influence of the Empress and the crown prince. But when the emperor let all the adult princes participate in the Civil Examinations, I felt he genuinely wanted to choose the most outstanding son as his successor. The matter of the crown prince carrying on an affair with his sister is a big deal, and in the emperor’s eyes, it is the perfect opportunity to replace the crown prince. With this issue, the Empress and crown prince faction have no grounds to make a fuss.”
Yang Yu furrowed his brows, “I thought the emperor was an enlightened individual.”
Su Liang’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, “Duanmu Ao said I was too naive, but where do I dare to belittle him? Duanmu Chen is very capable, and the emperor is even smarter. Never believe that members of the royal family will abide by principles of justice, they will only make choices that benefit themselves.” This was a warning Ning Jing had given Su Liang long ago.
Regardless, the outcome wasn’t terrible. Yang Yu sighed, “The emperor has deposed the crown prince, but will you let him go?
Su Liang shook his head, “No, but from now on, no matter what happens to the
Eldest Prince, the emperor will suspect me first.”
“What do we do then?” Yang Yu felt the situation was getting too complicated and people’s hearts were too hard to fathom.
Su Liang picked up the box of tea leaves and walked out, smiling, “It’s up to you to figure out how to save him. If you can’t think of a way, then forget it.”
“Aye! How come you guys….” Yang Yu watched Ning Jing and Su Liang walk away, feeling both amused and exasperated, “He’s clearly your friend, why does it seem like I’m supposed to be responsible for him?”
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