Chapter 281: Not Knowing Doesn’t Matter, Because They All Have to Die

Blood streamed from several wounds on his body, his life draining away, but Duan Ji refused to accept it.

"Doesn’t Your Majesty want to know where Rong Qing is?"

Xiao Li replied, "No doubt he fell into your trap."

"Hahaha!" Duan Ji laughed smugly. "His martial arts may be superb, but I couldn’t be bothered to fight him. I just knocked him out with some poison gas. But I won’t kill him. I’ve given orders to keep him alive and turn him into a Corpse Puppet. He’ll become my most effective executioner."

Seeing Xiao Li’s indifferent expression, Duan Ji deliberately taunted her, "Your Majesty, if you don’t save him soon, Rong Qing is finished for good."

"However, if Your Majesty agrees to three of my demands, I will spare his life. What do you say?"

’How ridiculous,’ Xiao Li thought. ’He doesn’t understand his own place, nor the station of the person standing before him.’

Xiao Li was the Empress, the most revered woman in the realm.

’One only ever hears of subordinates saving their masters, never of a sovereign humbling themselves to save a subordinate.’

’It’s an absolute joke.’

"If he dies, I will have you and your nine relations buried with him. A fair trade."

"Besides, in your current state, you’ll probably die long before he does."

The guards dispatched Duan Ji’s men. Two of them rushed in, hauled Duan Ji to his feet, and bound him tightly with rope in a matter of moments.

Only then did Xiao Li lower her spear. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to kill Duan Ji, but he was still of some use for now.

"Empress!"

Ziyue burst in from outside, landing at Xiao Li’s side in a single leap.

"Your Majesty."

Yang Jun entered with his men, blood still dripping from the sword in his hand.

He was relieved to see Xiao Li completely unharmed.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, all who resisted within the Prince Mansion have been eliminated. I have sent men to the government office and the military camp; we now await their reports."

Seeing the two men, Duan Ji understood all was lost and flew into a frenzy.

"Your Majesty, you were wary of me! You had people ready for me all along! Have you no conscience?"

His face was wrought with emotion, a picture of utter heartbreak.

Xiao Li was speechless. "It’s not that I was wary of you. You walked right into this yourself."

’I truly hadn’t received any word that Duan Ji was up to something. Otherwise, I would never have sent Rong Qing to mobilize the troops.’

But Duan Ji was beyond listening to reason, consumed with venting his fury.

"It was I who conquered Yue Country for you, performing deeds of great valor! And what did you do? You made me a mere Second-Grade General, then turned around and fell into a coma."

"The civil servants took over the court while the military generals lost all power. That clueless fool Song Junzhan let them release Murong Yu, allowing them to take back half of Yue Country! And me? I was sent off to this Taiping City to be a useless City Defense General."

"Yue Country... that was my life’s work! You just let it slip away! You’re the one who wronged me!"

Xiao Li rolled her eyes. "Your life’s work? Wrong. That was the glory and honor you thought belonged to you. With Yue Country lost, you have nothing left to brag about."

Xiao Li sneered. "That I wronged *you*? You’ve got some nerve."

"I made the plans. I arranged the army. I provided the funds and the provisions. The main force of the assault was the Silver Armor Army and the artillery they brought. You... you were just the one I happened to send out as a figurehead, to act as commander."

If Xiao Li hadn’t been reluctant to send her most loyal men away from her side, the role of Great General would never have fallen to Duan Ji.

"Duan Ji, you’re the one who’s delusional. You thought conquering Yue Country was your own achievement. You thought destroying a nation made you something special, that you could leverage it to become a noble or a minister."

"A few days in this Prince Mansion and you really started thinking you were a Prince? How absurd."

"You... you..." Duan Ji trembled with rage, never expecting that his accomplishments would not only go unrecognized but be utterly dismissed.

Xiao Li couldn’t even be bothered to look at him again. "Take him away!"

As Duan Ji was dragged away, the excessive blood loss combined with his fit of rage was too much. He stopped breathing before he even reached the door.

Xiao Li waved a dismissive hand. "String him up. Behead the body and put it on public display."

Traitors would not be forgiven.

Ziyue said, "Your Majesty, you haven’t even interrogated him yet. He must have had backers."

Xiao Li gave a cold smile. "It doesn’t matter. They’re all going to die anyway."

Xiao Li went to the main building. Pushing the door open, she was taken aback by the opulence inside.

Ziyue was astounded. "Where did he plunder all these treasures from? Was the Prince Yanping Mansion this wealthy?"

The room was lined with a dazzling array of jade ornaments, glittering with jewels. In the very center sat a chair made of pure gold, with a suit of silver armor hanging beside it.

Duan Ji was not one of the Silver Armor Guards, but this suit had been specially forged for him to wear into battle.

’Listening to his ranting,’ Xiao Li thought, ’I knew he must have hidden something here.’

’A solid gold chair. So decadent, so indulgent. The man had some nerve.’

Xiao Li examined the jade artifacts. "These aren’t from the Longsheng Royal Family. They must be from Yue Country."

’During the conquest of Yue Country, Duan Ji had been the one to storm their Imperial Palace and loot it. It seems he pocketed quite a few treasures for himself.’

Ziyue walked over to the chair and tried to heft it. He couldn’t even lift it, only managing to budge it slightly with considerable effort. "This is definitely solid gold."

’This chair is pure gold.’

Xiao Li was about to leave after a quick look around when she suddenly sensed a living presence.

"Come out."

Ziyue immediately moved in that direction and flung a curtain aside. Behind it cowered a beautiful, richly dressed woman.

"Ah!"

She screamed in terror, "Don’t kill me! Please, don’t kill me!"

Xiao Li noted the woman’s purple dress and was reminded of the room Duan Ji had led her to earlier.

"Are you Duan Ji’s wife?"

The woman’s body went stiff, and she shook her head frantically. "No, I’m not his wife."

’I don’t believe you,’ Xiao Li thought. ’You live with him. If not his wife, you’re close enough.’

’I can’t be bothered with this. I’ll let Yang Jun handle her.’

But then the woman suddenly burst into tears. "I am the Princess Consort Yanping!"

Xiao Li: "??! Ha!"

"You’re Xiao Jingzhao’s consort? The Princess Consort?"

Lu Suyun nodded. "I am."

Xiao Li asked, "Then how did you get mixed up with him?"

Lu Suyun lowered her head in shame. "He saved my life."

Lu Suyun cried, "When Yue Country occupied Yanping State, everyone in the Prince Mansion was taken hostage. The Prince eventually returned with his army, but instead of saving us right away, he ended up losing his own life. It was Duan Ji who saved me. After he... forced himself on me, he hid me away. When he returned here, I had been with him ever since, and we came back to this Prince Yanping Mansion."

Xiao Li was silent for a long moment, completely at a loss for words.

’Dealing with this kind of mess really isn’t my forte.’

"Take her into custody."

’I was just lamenting that I couldn’t interrogate Duan Ji. Interrogating this woman should prove just as useful.’

Xiao Li hadn’t just brought the thirty men who were visible.

The Silver Armor Army had grown from three thousand to its current seven thousand.

Their primary objective wasn’t to guard the Imperial Palace, but to protect the Empress herself.

Aside from the two thousand men guarding the Imperial Palace, the other five thousand were split into three groups, surrounding Xiao Li’s procession from the front, rear, and both flanks.

Duan Ji’s plan to deal with Rong Qing and then place the Empress under house arrest was nothing but a pipe dream.