Martial Cultivator

Even the longest night would eventually give way to dawn.

When the first light of dawn arrives, the events that unfolded in the darkness turn into stories.

The events of last night, by the time the sun rose, had become known to many. An assassination attempt, ultimately unsuccessful, saw the young martial artist at the heart of it all vanish into the night. The Left Guard had gone mad through the night, but after midnight, everything became eerily quiet. As dawn approached, word spread: Marquis Huainan, who had once fought alongside the Emperor to seize the realm, was dead.

The influential figures in the Divine Capital knew much about Marquis Huainan. They knew that this martial artist, who had followed the Emperor back then, had earned great merit. They also knew that he had faded from the political scene for over a decade due to past matters, and just when nearly everyone had begun to forget him, he died.

Everyone could piece together some of the connections.

Yet, the biggest question on everyone’s mind was where Chen Chao had gone.

After that night, Chen Chao disappeared without a trace.

……

……

”Being at the center of such an event, unable to break free, nor to decide one’s own future, disappearing at this moment is an excellent choice. Leaving the Divine Capital, leaving Great Liang, and sparing His Majesty from further difficulties.”

Every spring, the Premier would receive exquisite spring tea from White Deer Prefecture and invite his old friend, the Grand Historian, to his residence for tea and idle chat. Now, with such major events occurring in the Divine Capital, their conversation naturally shifted to these recent happenings.

As the white mist rose from the tea in front of him, the Grand Historian lamented, ”Given his status, the fact that His Majesty has tolerated him for so long speaks volumes about His Majesty’s exceptional magnanimity.”

The civil officials of the court had a complex relationship with the Emperor, both loving and hating him. As the official historian, the Grand Historian had to record every word and deed of the Emperor, which made him much more objective than most.

The Premier raised his tea bowl, blew on the steaming liquid, and said, ”Marquis Huainan and the others are old ministers who fought alongside His Majesty to seize the realm. No matter what His Majesty thinks, they don’t want to see the empire handed back to the late Crown Prince’s lineage. That’s why that assassination attempt occurred that night. But they underestimated that young man, and they failed to accomplish their goal.”

The Grand Historian asked, ”What does His Majesty think?”

The Premier replied with a question of his own, ”You write about His Majesty every day, yet why can’t you see through him?”

The Grand Historian hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. ”An emperor’s heart runs deep, I truly cannot see through him.”

After some thought, the Premier said, ”I don’t know exactly what His Majesty thinks, but it’s clear that people like Marquis Huainan only believe that His Majesty wants to kill that young man, which is why they acted as they did.”

The Grand Historian took a sip of tea and asked rather curiously, ”Then what will His Majesty do in the end?”

The Premier said with vicissitudes of emotion, ”His Majesty ascended the throne through martial prowess and is himself an extremely powerful martial artist. Yet, his mind remains meticulous, and his political cunningness are no less refined than those of past emperors. For so long, he hasn’t acted - whether it’s due to regret, guilt, genuine admiration, or a desire to flush out those fallen supporters behind him by keeping him alive temporarily - none of it matters anymore.”

”Now, many are forcing His Majesty to make a choice, pushing him to make a choice in a very short amount of time.”

The Premier looked at the Grand Historian and said, ”There’s a saying I’ve always thought wasn’t quite right.”

The Grand Historian asked, ”What is it?”

”They say that in the Divine Capital, if His Majesty wants to kill someone, who could still live?” ”I’ve always felt that, for some people, the decision of whether to kill or not, and when to kill, is not something His Majesty can determine alone.”

The Premier held his tea bowl and said with a faint smile, ”The banquet His Majesty is holding is not far off. I imagine there will be some resolution at that banquet.”

”I’m also quite curious myself to see what kind of person His Majesty truly is.”

……

……

Time won’t stop for the absence of any one person, for it belongs to no one. So after that night, time quietly moved forward. No one mentioned the events of that night, not even Ye Dayuan, who had once declared he would submit a memorial to the Emperor. For some unknown reason, he gave up the idea.

A few quiet days passed, and the final morning court session before the banquet had already been held.

This court session was far from calm, with many things happening.

The matter of Marquis Huainan’s death was brought up. Although the Marquis had long since faded from the court’s view, he remained one of the few marquises of the Great Liang Dynasty. Now that he had died an unnatural death, it naturally needed to be thoroughly investigated.

”Marquis Huainan died from a sharp weapon, yet there were no traces of sword qi, it should have been a saber wound. That night, Deputy Commander of the Left Guard, Chen Chao, also disappeared. This subject suspects he is the murderer!”

Several military officials came forward during the court session, demanding that His Majesty thoroughly investigate the matter.

The Great Liang Emperor looked at these military officials in silence for a long time without speaking.

”Your Majesty, Marquis Huainan rendered great service to the imperial court. If something as major as his death is ignored, how can that not chill the hearts of the court officials?”

Those military officials knelt in the grand hall, speaking earnestly.

They were all people who had once followed the emperor in the battles that established the empire. The saying ”one prospers, all prosper; one suffers, all suffer” certainly held some truth.

”In that case, let the Court of Judicial Review investigate.”

The emperor finally spoke from his dragon throne, but after this sentence, many people’s faces changed subtly.

Han Pu, the Chief Judicial Officer, was a well-known solitary official in the court. He had no friends, so no one could raise any objections about him being assigned to investigate this case.

After all, it was also the responsibility of the Court of Judicial Review to handle such matters. After all, Song Ting was Marquis Huainan.

After dealing with this issue, perhaps feeling some irritation, the Emperor waved his hand and ended the court session.

After the court session, the officials felt a sense of heaviness. They had originally hoped to gauge His Majesty’s stance through this matter, but it seemed that no one could discern exactly where His Majesty stood.

However, it was clear that everyone was waiting for the upcoming banquet, so no one said anything further.

……

……

Court of Judicial Review.

Han Pu, dressed in his official robe, sat on a chair. Before him stood a group of officials from the Court of Judicial Review, along with the cold, lifeless body.

Marquis Huainan, Song Ting, an individual of high status, had died in a rather simple manner.

Han Pu’s expression was serious. With his many years of experience in handling cases, it was easy for him to tell that Song Ting had been killed by a saber. The lingering aura on the body was identical to that of the Deputy Commander of the Left Guard.

In other words, Chen Chao had no thoughts of concealing his actions when he killed Song Ting.

At this point, concluding the case would naturally be very straightforward. However, Han Pu knew that resolving it like this would clearly not suffice.

”Investigate thoroughly, find out who Marquis Huainan has met with during this period.”

”Your Excellency, since the cause of death has already been determined, shouldn’t apprehending the suspect be our top priority?” The official of the Court of Judicial Review was perplexed as he looked at his superior. Given that the entire imperial court was watching this case closely, it seemed obvious that solving it as quickly as possible should be the priority.

Han Pu felt somewhat irritable, he looked at the official and said, ”His Majesty ordered the Court of Judicial Review to investigate. Did he say to only find out who killed Marquis Huainan?”

The official froze for a moment. ”Could there be more to this than meets the eye?”

”What rubbish, how many years has Marquis Huainan been retired? He never involved himself in anything, and now he just dies for no reason? Are we not going to investigate the full context?”

Han Pu continued calmly, ”Does His Majesty only care about finding the murderer?”

That official dared not respond further and lowered his head before backing out. Soon after, the entire Court of Judicial Review began bustling with activity. Figures of officials were constantly moving about, with countless documents being carried in and out.

”Marquis Huainan hosted guests a few days before his death. This much can be deduced from the vegetables and fruits purchased for the small courtyard, but we are having difficulty identifying the guests.”

The Court of Judicial Review, as one of the Three Judicial Chief Ministries of the Great Liang Dynasty, was extremely efficient. Within half a day, they had uncovered many details.

However, some leads had come to a dead end.

Han Pu frowned and asked, ”The residence of the Deputy Commander of the Left Guard was destroyed that night. What about those corpses? Where are they? Find them, and identify who they are.”

Having served as the Chief Judicial Officer for many years, Han Pu naturally possessed the sharpest judgment.

”The bodies were taken by the Left Guard. They should currently be stored at the Left Guard’s office, but it seems the Lord Commander of the Left Guard hasn’t shown up there in recent days.”

The officials were troubled. Whether it was the Ministry of Penalty or other offices, they would cooperate, but the Left Guard, which was under the warden faction, was outside their control.

”Your Excellency, should we request an imperial decree?”

Someone spoke up, feeling a little worried.

After all, this case involved their Left Guard’s deputy commander.

Han Pu remained silent for a moment before saying, ”This official will go personally. You all continue investigating the other matters.”

After saying this, Han Pu boarded his sedan and departed from the Court of Judicial Review, heading straight to the Left Guard’s office.

The Left Guard’s office was supposed to have one Commander and two Deputy Commanders, but after Chen Chao had killed one of the Deputy Commanders, no replacement had been appointed. With both Song Lian and Chen Chao absent, the one in charge now was actually Weng Quan.

Weng Quan welcomed Han Pu in without hesitation and immediately led this Chief Judicial Officer toward the mortuary.

After examining the bodies, Han Pu quickly stepped out and asked with a frown, ”Do you have any other leads?”

He had long known that identifying the identities of these corpses would be impossible, but sometimes, one had no choice but to try.

Weng Quan smiled bitterly and said, ”Commander Song said that Lord Han is the best at solving cases. If even Lord han can’t figure it out, no one else can.”

”Where’s your Commander Song? Can you bring me to see him?”

After some thought, Han Pu decided to meet with Song Lian.

Weng Quan did not refuse and soon led Han Pu to meet Song Lian.

Song Lian was at home drinking.

When Han Pu saw Song Lian, he was very blunt the moment he opened his mouth, ”Marquis Huainan, Song Ting, is dead. He was killed by Chen Chao, but I need to know why Chen Chao killed Song Ting. What happened that night? Tell me everything you know.”