Chapter 45: The Scapegoat Princess Consort Sentenced to Death

“Father Emperor, may I dare to speak a few words? I fear this matter can only be handled with subtlety. Everyone should avoid mentioning it as much as possible; even the funeral of the thirteenth prince must be kept simple. If possible, it would be best for one or two other major incidents to occur to divert the attention of the capital’s populace. Only then can the impact of this event be minimized.”

At present, the only person bold enough to speak out was the Crown Prince. This matter not only concerned the dignity of his father, Emperor Tianwu, but also the stability of his family’s rule and the reputation of the entire royal lineage. No matter how reluctant he was, as Crown Prince, he could not simply ignore it.

Although the study of communications was not yet fully developed, clever minds had already learned to apply its principles. Handling the situation quietly without responding, or better yet, creating several other major incidents to divert public attention, would naturally cause the rumors to fade in ten or fifteen days. On the contrary, overtly suppressing and controlling the narrative could worsen the situation. The age-old wisdom that “the more you highlight it, the darker it looks” still held true.

“Must I always remain passive? Must I be led by the nose by some unknown entity—and judging by the voice, it’s a woman?” Emperor Tianwu knew logically that the Crown Prince’s approach was sound, but emotionally, he found it hard to accept.

At that moment, the Chief Censor, Zhou Yu, suddenly recalled something. After some hesitation, he stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, what concerns me now is whether this unknown entity will continue its actions. From what I understand, although there may be none quite like Prince Lu among the feudal lords, those who have violated national laws have never been punished—or at least not according to the law. Prince Lu is far from the only one. I fear all feudal lords across the realm must be cautious.”

As the top official in charge of the Censorate, Zhou Yu was privy to information unknown to ordinary ministers—such as the fact that Emperor Tianwu and Consort Guang had once contended with this unknown presence. This entity often spoke of divine justice and retribution, claiming to act on behalf of Heaven. It was easy to deduce that it would not cease its actions here, and those feudal lords who had long indulged in misdeeds without consequence were likely to face difficulties soon. At least until this entity was captured, their lives remained at constant risk.

Upon Zhou Yu’s reminder, ministers who had already considered this remained silent, while those who had not thought of it before mostly kept quiet as well. Those who had previously kept their heads down continued to do so, trying to minimize their visibility.

After all, whether a prince lived or died was hardly their concern. If he died, he died. Why should they risk their lives over a little greed? These feudal lords received substantial stipends each year, yet despite their frequent wrongdoings, they had never faced any consequences. If one died, it was deserved—and even better. In fact, some secretly felt a grim satisfaction.

Besides, this unknown entity had not targeted them yet; why bother devising specific countermeasures? The ones who should be anxious were Emperor Tianwu and the entire royal family. If not for fear of the Emperor’s wrath, they might have already raised their cups in celebration.

At this moment, the only ones whose expressions had truly changed were Emperor Tianwu, the Crown Prince, and a few silent princes. These princes, including the Crown Prince himself, even began to reflect on whether they had committed any improper or illegal acts. Though still somewhat uneasy, they eventually concluded that, compared to Prince Lu, they were mere amateurs and should be safe.

They continued discussing for two more hours, but there was simply no solution. Facing matters beyond their comprehension, helplessness was the best description.

In the end, Emperor Tianwu had no choice but to accept the Crown Prince’s advice: handle the matter quietly and forbid all court officials and participants of the Heaven Sacrifice ceremony from discussing it. He immediately dispatched the Embroidered Uniform Guards to seize the families of eight noblemen guilty of embezzling military supplies and nine officials guilty of embezzling grain taxes, then publicly executed them by lingchi in the marketplace.

The evidence against these nobles and officials had actually been collected six months earlier, but it was incomplete, and the full network had not been uncovered. Emperor Tianwu had originally planned to gather all evidence and make a complete purge. However, now that a few major news stories were needed to distract the capital’s populace, they had to be sacrificed prematurely.

Given their rank and offenses, they did not deserve such a public and brutal punishment. Yet, for the same reason as before, this opportunity was granted.

When Ding Shui returned to the capital after dealing with Prince Jin, she was both frustrated and somewhat pleased. Frustrated because she had missed the executions of three criminals, denying her husband Prince Lu the soul’s chance to endure three more rounds of lingchi. Pleased because there would be no shortage of victims to be executed.

Prince Lu’s soul was about to suffer much more; the souls of the other three living princes would not lack future torment either. Their biological father was indeed thoughtful!

Ding Shui even secretly hoped Emperor Tianwu would continue to resist. If he compromised and publicly revealed his three sons’ crimes, having them executed by lingchi, she would have no choice but to acknowledge that they had accepted legal punishment and stop there. But if he persisted in protecting them, it meant they could endure many more rounds of lingchi.

In the following days, since all troublesome feudal lords had been dealt with and the original body’s grudges were primarily focused on Prince Lu and Emperor Tianwu, Ding Shui was in no hurry to carry out other acts of divine justice.

She decided to stay permanently in the capital, accompanying Prince Lu’s soul to the marketplace executions. This time, with so many spectators, Ding Shui did not hide but vigilantly watched. Whenever Prince Lu attempted to say something inappropriate, she promptly silenced him with a mental slap, preventing him from speaking.

Thus, the process went smoothly without incident.

However, after two days, Prince Lu’s soul began to break down. Apart from the physical torment—the excruciating pain of lingchi—his complete loss of the will to live was a major factor. After being executed three times a day, his desire to survive was understandably gone.

But how could Ding Shui bear to let him die? She quickly used the Super Synthesis System to recombine his disintegrating soul. After several syntheses to activate a qualitative transformation, his soul became smaller but also tougher, less prone to collapse, able to endure several more rounds of lingchi.

Unfortunately, three days later, he still died. Though his soul remained, the core spirit—the essence of his soul—had disintegrated. Without this core, the remaining soul was merely a mass of mental energy with memory.

The eighteen levels of hell had the River of Forgetfulness and Yin energy to coordinate and support souls during punishment, preventing collapse. Ding Shui had none of these aids.

Given the situation, this was still acceptable.

With Prince Lu’s complete death, Ding Shui clearly felt more than half of the resentment she bore dissipate. The remainder would only vanish after Emperor Tianwu was done away with.

This was the sixth day after the Heaven Sacrifice.

On this very day, a local official from King Han’s territory, using his authority, hastened to deliver a memorial by post relay to the Ministry of Personnel. It finally reached there, swiftly stirring the entire ministry.

An hour later, it was placed in Emperor Tianwu’s hands.