“So, can anyone give me a reasonable explanation?”
Qiao Yan looked at the crowd before her, her expression a mix of confusion and anger.
Lü Bu stood nervously with Li Hui, who was now dressed in the Son of Heaven’s clothes—Li Jue’s daughter in royal attire. What a sight!
They had chased down the wrong person, but they had to bring her back, especially since there were a few officials from the Chang’an court in tow.
Fortunately, Lü Bu had the wits to not capture those officials along with their target during the chase.
But right now, these folks had been sent back to calm down, and most of the people here were familiar faces.
Lu Zhi was freed from his cell in Chang’an.
Though he looked considerably thinner, he was at least in one piece and could catch up with his old friend Huangfu Song, who had arrived soon after.
Xun Shuang was still ailing but had stubbornly made his way here.
Then there were Wang Yun and Huang Wan, among others.
Qiao Yan pointed at Li Hui and asked, “Why was no one stopped from letting her wear the emperor’s uniform? With Li Jue in a position of need, did you all forget how to argue your case?”
She had considered that with Li Jue’s cunning, a little guidance from Jia Xu might have made escaping a piece of cake.
But she never imagined Li Jue’s complete disregard for imperial authority and instinct for self-preservation would lead him to this madness.
Misleading Lü Bu to chase the wrong direction was one thing, but the shocking part was他让其他人都穿上了天子的十二章制服。
The emperor’s majesty shouldn’t be taken lightly; it was foundational for the honor of the Han dynasty.
It was already damaged during Dong Zhuo’s reign and suffered another blow when Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu casually considered setting up their own empire; now it was getting hit for a third time.
If anyone could wear emperor’s clothes, what happened to Han’s laws and rituals?
Not to mention, the one donning that outfit was a woman.
This news couldn’t be better for someone like Qiao Yan, who aspired to greatness, but she couldn’t show any signs of accepting such chaos.
She had to confront Wang Yun!
Li Jue pulled this stunt, and why couldn’t you rebut him? Instead, you let it happen!
What were you even doing?
To be fair, Wang Yun had his own troubles.
He put himself in Chang’an’s treacherous waters to ensure the emperor’s safety and had to dance around Li Jue and Dong Zhuo, all while being manipulated by the cunning Jia Xu, resorting only to temporary measures.
If he had known Qiao Yan would penetrate Chang’an this quickly and with minimal casualties, he would’ve played along with Li Jue for a bit longer.
Sadly, he was in the dark and could only be the scapegoat now.
For some odd reason, he felt like Lü Bu shot him a grateful glance, as if he appreciated the shared burden of blame.
This bizarre scenario made Wang Yun feel a little nauseous.
He didn’t want that gratitude at all.
Thankfully, Qiao Yan added, “Well, since Zilong is also after them, let’s see if he has any news.”
Zhao Yun had pursued further south after hearing Lü Bu went east.
This meticulous approach to covering all bases wasn’t surprising to Qiao Yan.
She felt relieved she hadn’t given the Da Yuan warhorses to Zhao Yun’s subordinates, but she didn’t let any of that show on her face.
From Wang Yun and the others’ perspective, Qiao Yan simply pinched her brow in fatigue.
Days of marching left a few traces of exhaustion on her face.
With a tired sigh, she repeated, “Let’s wait until Zilong returns.”
Once she said that, she dropped the topic of Wang Yun letting Li Jue’s antics slide and walked towards Li Hui.
Li Jue clearly didn’t care much for this daughter; she was nothing more than a tool he could sacrifice when it suited him.
Of course, it was only natural that he didn’t care much for his wife and son either, or he wouldn’t have abandoned them all in Chang’an.
As a result, during the chaos after Dong Zhuo’s d*ath, some overzealous individuals stumbled upon the mother and child and brutally killed them on the streets of Chang’an.
Surprisingly, it was this discarded daughter who appeared safe in front of Qiao Yan.
However, as Qiao Yan drew near, Li Hui instinctively shrank back a step, fear reflected in her eyes.
She had just heard Qiao Yan reprimanding Wang Yun about letting her wear those clothes, and Wang Yun, a high official of the Han, didn’t protest, which indicated how wrong this move was.
So she was also a mistake, which meant she also deserved punishment, right?
But unexpectedly, all she heard from Qiao Yan was, “Yao Chang, take her away to change.”
Li Hui didn’t dare resist and followed Yao Chang out of the hall, cutting her off from the ensuing conversation.
Qiao Yan pondered Li Hui’s situation; it was hard to say whether her character was shaped by Li Jue and his wife’s oppression.
But there was no doubt she had not enjoyed any benefits from Li Jue’s power but rather suffered because of it.
In such circumstances, blaming her for Li Jue’s offenses was obviously inappropriate.
But right now, the more pressing issue wasn’t this “false Son of Heaven,” but the whereabouts of the true one.
Even if Liu Xie was missing, needing a stable figure in the center meant Li Hui couldn’t continue masking herself.
Fake is fake; you can’t hide fire with paper, and Qiao Yan was certainly not going to hand her opponents such leverage.
Now it would all come down to the final outcome.
After all, with Dong Zhuo gone and the Guanzhong plains secured, regardless of whether that plan was executed successfully or Liu Xie’s disappearance was logical, she had her strategies to handle it all.
And before the results of Zhao Yun’s search returned, a few other people were brought before her.
Jia Xu and Dong Zhuo’s family members were unearthed from the underground tunnels.
This tunnel led to a civilian house inside Chang’an, and the entrance had been quickly covered up by Li Jue while he dealt with Dong Zhuo, so it shouldn’t have been discovered easily.
However, there was limited food in the tunnel and the house, and they needed a way out.
Since Jia Xu was “unaware” that neither Li Jue nor Dong Zhuo held the reins in the city anymore, he foolishly stepped out and directly collided with a group of soldiers brought by Lü Bu.
After being recognized, he couldn’t fight too well and couldn’t run either, so he was captured in no time and brought before Qiao Yan.
Along with him were Dong Zhuo’s mother and daughter.
Upon hearing the news of Dong Zhuo and Dong Bai’s deaths, the old lady, granted the title of Lady of Chiyang, took a while to regain her composure.
Supported by her granddaughter, she caught her breath and looked toward Qiao Yan, who sat at the head of the table.
Qiao Yan was still clad in her armor, even after securing the situation in Chang’an, showing no signs of step back for a moment, ready to continue leading the troops.
There was no pity in her gaze, just calmness as they locked eyes.
The old lady asked, “May I ask, what are your plans for us?”
Qiao Yan replied, “You have two choices. One is like Dong Zhuo; I can give you a decent d*ath, at least it won’t be like how Dong Zhuo left He Miao’s corpse on the street.”
“The other is to live in hiding, going by false names, and remain in my Bingzhou farming lands, spending your remaining days peacefully.”
The old lady paused a moment, gripping her granddaughter’s still trembling hand, and replied, “I would rather have a good d*ath than live miserably; I choose the first option. Thank you for granting us some closure.”
Compared to He Miao being dismembered and dumped by Dong Zhuo, they felt they received a degree of dignity.
This old lady must have been extraordinary to raise someone like Dong Bai as her granddaughter.
The woman beside her was Niu Fu’s wife; though terrified of the impending d*ath, she simply offered her thanks to Qiao Yan and followed her grandmother to their fate.
These two weren’t alone; Dong Zhuo’s nephew Dong Huang was in the same boat.
With the money circulating under Dong Zhuo’s name and the steep taxes levied annually, coupled with the drafting of soldiers while the situation in Chang’an was still unstable, many citizens could only vent their frustrations quietly.
Now, seeing Dong Zhuo fall, his family members facing d*ath, the citizens of Chang’an could hardly contain their joy.
This outcome was almost a fortune for them.
Under Duan Wei’s supervision, their bodies were placed in coffins and sent to Liangzhou, Dong Zhuo’s homeland in Longxi County for burial.
Duan Wei expressed his gratitude to Qiao Yan, knowing that if they left the bodies in Chang’an, there would certainly be someone yearning for vengeance, ready to stage a coffin opening and corpse mutilation.
After watching Duan Wei leave, Qiao Yan turned to Jia Xu, sighing. “Don’t you think it’s time for you to give me an explanation?”
To outsiders, it seemed Jia Xu was taken to Chang’an due to Yan Xing’s kidnapping.
If we considered people’s views on loyalty nowadays, Jia Xu should have remained silent thereafter, never offering advice to Dong Zhuo.
And considering the safety of his wife in Liang and Bingzhou, he should have been a loyal subject adamantly refusing to switch sides.
But he didn’t stay quiet; in fact, he advised Dong Zhuo countless times.
Interestingly, he was not completely classified by the citizens of Chang’an as part of Dong Zhuo’s gang.
Apart from the incident with Sun Jian, almost all his suggestions aimed merely to prevent Qiao Yan from taking military action.
He had helped stabilize food prices in Chang’an by suggesting Dong Zhuo reach out for trade with Yizhou, thus serving the populace.
He persuaded Li Jue to trust Wang Yun and Huang Wan, which, in a way, mitigated the whirlwind of chaos from the past few days.
Whoever looked at the situation would find it hard to pin any charges on Jia Xu.
He had meticulously crafted numerous escape routes for himself, truly cunning in his schemes.
More importantly, Li Jue had sought a governmental position for Jia Xu, which Liu Xie had approved; therefore…
Jia Xu was Liu Xie’s attendant.
As a servant of the Son of Heaven, he had not overstepped any bounds, and Qiao Yan had no power to decide his fate.
Qiao Yan exchanged a knowing glance with Jia Xu, saying they would wait for Liu Xie’s return for a decision.
However, when Zhao Yun returned, they didn’t get news of Liu Xie being successfully brought back, but instead, Yan Xing was escorted back to Chang’an by Zhao Yun.
Zhao Yun reported, “I went south to track down and learned that there were two individuals resembling Li Jue and the emperor fleeing toward Shangluo. They encountered a military block there.”
Yan Xing was no match for Zhao Yun and was captured quickly.
But in that time, Li Jue had already made his escape.
With all the court ministers watching closely, Yan Xing turned to Qiao Yan and said, “General Zhao mentioned that since I betrayed the lord and joined Dong Zhuo to avenge General Han, you didn’t hold any grudges, nor did you harm General Han’s former subordinates, even sparing my old parents in Liangzhou. There are witnesses among the soldiers from Liangzhou in the army entering Chang’an.”
“I may be unfaithful, but I cannot be unfilial, so I told General Zhao that Li Jue indeed passed through here and wanted us to head south.”
“At that time, I told Li Jue that if we had pursuers, heading straight to Wuguan would only lead us to be hunted down from behind. Instead, I suggested I take the army and ambush the pursuers first, then let my guards escort me to Wuguan. I would follow a day later and we could leave together then.”
Wang Yun almost lunged at Yan Xing, but he remembered to maintain decorum, solemnly saying, “If you were truly faithful and filial, you should have returned both Li Jue and the emperor to Chang’an!”
Yan Xing replied, “I thought my parents had already passed. Li Jue promised to aid in the conquest of Liangzhou, so I had to repay his kindness. Now that he has lost power, I still know what loyalty means, so how could I leave him behind?”
“Enough,” Qiao Yan interrupted their argument and addressed Yan Xing, “Continue.”
Yan Xing went on, “But when my troops and General Zhao reached Wuguan, we found no sign of Li Jue.”
“The men left behind said he sent someone ahead to scout the situation, but when they returned, Li Jue was nowhere to be seen.”
“…” Now it was Huangfu Song’s turn to be the one pinching his brow in annoyance.
According to the communication habits of Liangzhou people, considering Li Jue was already in such a sorry state, Yan Xing’s hesitation to decisively withdraw with him could make Li Jue feel like Yan Xing was still weighing whether to backstab him to join Qiao Yan or continue down the same path with him.
Li Jue also realized he couldn’t give orders to the soldiers led by Yan Xing.
Even though these soldiers were assigned to Yan Xing by Li Jue, he had just recently won a battle against Zhang Ji, yes?
“If he thinks he needs this many people to pull off an ambush, nothing Li Jue says will change that.”
So, they wouldn’t just follow Li Jue around.
This only fueled Li Jue’s suspicion.
With that preconception in mind, seeing Yan Xing send his close associates to “escort” him made Li Jue uneasy. He could not think of them as bodyguards ensuring his safety.
He could only see them as watchers on his person.
Since no one could be trusted, he had to go on his own!
As long as he wasn’t caught immediately and had Liu Xie in hand, he’d always have a chance to bounce back.
But there were so many routes for Li Jue to take from Shangluo to Wuguan.
Heading southwest to Shanyang, he could reach Hanzhong territory.
Going southeast over Wuguan would take him to Nanyang, just like he originally planned.
Venturing northeast would lead him to Lu’s territory, from where he could access the official road to Chang’an and Luoyang.
With Lü Bu capturing a fake Emperor in this area, the safety of this route was undoubtedly enhanced.
Which path would he take?
“Let’s send people out to look around,” Lu Zhi said, gazing at the tense atmosphere.
Yan Xing had already briefed them on the situation, and given his age, it was hard for anyone to say anything too harsh.
His youthful appearance led one to wonder what kind of mindset he had back then to make such a bold decision to flee Liangzhou for Chang’an, spurred by Han Sui’s recognition of him.
Also, his youth made Li Jue think he might waver in his choices.
Right now, Lu Zhi shared a similar suspicion with Huangfu Song.
Li Jue was likely feeling threatened by Yan Xing’s ambiguous stance on his safety, leading him to hide away for the time being and make a reappearance later.
But the more he kept a low profile in such a small-scale situation, the harder it would be for anyone to find him.
Even when they launched a thorough search centered around Wuguan, all they found near Shanyang were some discarded emperor’s robes, with no other directional clues discovered.
Upon hearing this search result, Huang Wan frowned and said, “Li Jue can’t just keep running forever; he’ll have to show himself eventually.”
At this point, Li Jue’s hostage of Liu Xie had a different significance compared to Dong Zhuo’s situation.
He had no soldiers, only a person, and was merely using Liu Xie as a life-saving card.
But then he changed his expression, “Wait, he has another route! If he sends the emperor to Ye City, Yuan Shao and the others will surely consider him a benefactor.”
Because with that, there would be no two emperors in the world, only Liu Bian, the descendant of the Han Ling Emperor!
Yuan Shao would have to give Li Jue a generous reward to ensure his continued survival.
As everyone exchanged glances, Wang Yun spoke up, “Actually, there’s another possibility. If he sends His Majesty to Jing Province or Yizhou, there’s an opportunity there too. One controls Yizhou and the other dominates Jingxiang, both being relatives of the Han court. If he builds up his strength first and then uses the emperor’s name to command the states, he could still benefit.”
In other words, their analysis didn’t rule out the option of Li Jue going in a particular direction.
“Let’s keep searching…”
“Enough!” Before Wang Yun could finish, Qiao Yan cut him off sharply.
“I’m tired.”
Her simple three words dropped in the abruptly silent hall like a bomb.
This was a statement nobody expected.
But as everyone turned to look at her, they suddenly realized she was only eighteen.
Yet since the year before the Han Ling Emperor’s d*ath, she had been patrolling the borders, battling the Xianbei.
From Dong Zhuo’s court chaos in the first year of Guangxi to now, in the third year of Guangxi’s eighth month, she’d already subdued Liangzhou and entered Guanzhong, never pausing for a moment.
She was not only waging war but was also stabilizing the livelihoods of people in two provinces.
So when she said she was tired, it held more weight than anyone else saying the same.
Yet at such an age, a time where most wouldn’t even qualify for the Recommendation for Filial Piety and Integrity.
Even if one could argue that her high status warranted such responsibility, when compared to the actions of other regional governors, there was really no one who could blame her for saying she was tired.
“The people of Bingzhou and Liangzhou are tired too,” she continued.
“Even if you haven’t witnessed the state of Liang and Bing, surely you’ve seen the situation in Chang’an, right?”
The state of panic in Chang’an remained unresolved even days after Dong Zhuo’s demise.
And, in fact, this was normally the time for celebrating the autumn harvest—a time when families should be rejoicing.
But they weren’t, and they couldn’t.
Qiao Yan suddenly raised her voice, “What if we find out Li Jue sent the emperor to Yuan Shao? Should we send troops to Ji Province? If he’s in Jing Province, should we send troops there? If he’s in Yizhou, should we send troops to Yizhou? The situation changes instantly; the emperor’s life and d*ath are uncertain, and his whereabouts are unknown. What should we do? Are we to gamble with the lives of these commoners?”
Every word she spoke felt like a severe interrogation, even if she was younger than anyone else present.
“Of course, I don’t mean to offend anyone,” she said, lowering her voice a bit, “I just think it would be futile to act blindly at this moment.”
Lu Zhi asked, “I assume you don’t intend to support the guy in Ye City, do you?”
While others discussing futile efforts might mean just that, Qiao Yan was definitely not.
If she had that thought, she wouldn’t have refused the position of General offered by the guy in Ye City, even at the cost of attacking Liangzhou.
Moreover, the emperor in Ye City had already proven his unsuitability for the throne through his performance these past two years.
Rather than being the emperor of the Han, it seemed more appropriate to call him Yuan Shao’s puppet controlling Qing and Ji provinces.
“Of course not,” Qiao Yan shook her head decisively, “I want… to enthrone Liu Yuanzhong as the emperor.”
Liu Yuanzhong, Liu Yu!
She wants to elevate Liu Yu to emperor? That statement dropped like a rock into water, sending ripples through everyone present.
Realizing the implication, Huang Wan quickly asked, “If you proceed with this enthronement, how are you any different from Yuan Gonglu?”
Years ago, Qiao Yan had chastised Yuan Shu for trying to enthrone Liu Bian, arguing that his casual talk of deposition and enthronement was a reckless act no different than Dong Zhuo’s.
How could she possibly make such a choice today?
Wasn’t this akin to walking the same path as Yuan Shu?
But she heard Qiao Yan’s firm response: “You’re wrong; I am nothing like them!”
Qiao Yan looked at everyone, her youthful face increasingly sharp with conviction.
She proclaimed loudly, “Back then, when I said he wouldn’t dare attack Dong Zhuo, it was because he was disregarding the integrity of the Han. But now that Dong Zhuo has been dealt with, those who disrupt the court will meet their own demise. We have proof. Even with a thousand miles between us, there are loyal and virtuous people in the Han ready to respond, alongside fearless generals pushing forward, seeking to eliminate the traitors. This is the first point.”
“Back then, when Lu taught that another emperor would disregard the safety of the late emperor’s heir, today regardless of whether we make this choice or not, the safety of the emperor is already uncertain. It’s better to prioritize the livelihood of the Han people—this is the second point.”
“Back then, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu enthroned a young emperor, sowing suspicion with a minor ruler and major powers. But while Liu Bo’an governed You Province, he appointed the worthy, stabilizing food prices—this we have all witnessed. It’s the capable who reside in the position of emperor—this is the third point.”
“Back then, the Wang of Hongnong was not the late emperor’s preferred heir, and even slaughtered the powerful to cut off succession ambitions. But Liu Yu comes from the royal heir of Donghai—a trusted minister of the late emperor. By legitimacy, he ranks just below the missing emperor—this is the fourth point.”
“Can we all agree on these four points?”
Qiao Yan’s well-reasoned argument hit hard, making everyone question whether she had thought this through a long time ago.
But she had always had exceptional reasoning capabilities, as seen from her previous discourse on feudalism at Dingzhong Temple. Even if this thought came unexpectedly, it wouldn’t be unusual.
Besides, as she mentioned, Liu Yu’s legitimacy derived from both the late emperor’s endorsement and his lineage, giving him a standing different from the young emperor’s fragile status; if Qiao Yan were to seek personal profit, he wouldn’t be her choice.
This was not on the same level as the situation with the Yuan brothers inviting the Hongnong royal to Ye City.
Xun Shuang slowly asked, “Would Liu Yu agree with this suggestion?”
Qiao Yan shook her head, “I don’t know.”
They’d need to send messages to Youzhou to find out.
When Liu Xie woke up, the evening glow painted the sky.
But he had no mood to appreciate the view; his head was pounding.
While Li Jue dragged him away, fearing he might try to escape in the chaos due to having only one guard, he’d knocked him out more than once.
This time, it wasn’t just a headache; his face felt like it was throbbing in pain.
He reached up to touch his face and gasped.
What he felt wasn’t the expected sensation but rather a gash, with his fingertips touching something damp and bloody.
Instinctively, he looked up and found himself in a low valley, with bloodstains high on the rocks above.
It seemed… he had fallen from up there?
He quickly flipped himself up to a sitting position.
As he moved, he suddenly kicked something with his foot.
When he looked in that direction, he saw a familiar figure—Li Jue!
But at that moment, Li Jue was out cold, face down in the grass.
Even with Liu Xie giving him a kick, there was no reaction whatsoever.
Liu Xie cautiously crept closer, realizing Li Jue must have knocked his head against a rock.
If he did fall from a high place and hit like that, he was surely beyond saving.
Sure enough, when he turned Li Jue over, he found bl**d soaking a rock; Li Jue had already taken his last breath.
Li Jue… he was dead?
Having the villain who held him captive unexpectedly d*e was pure luck for Liu Xie.
But he had no clue where he was and wasn’t in the mood to celebrate just yet.
His head and face were badly injured, and his limbs were bruised. Plus, he hadn’t eaten properly in two days, so he was starving.
Unfortunately, as a prince raised in the imperial palace, he had no idea about the wild plants out here.
Recalling the scenarios he’d read about in books, he dared not eat whatever greenery he could find, so he wrapped fabric around his hands and cautiously crawled up the slope of the valley.
Fortunately, this wasn’t a particularly deep pit.
But once he climbed up, he found himself surrounded by dense forest, making it hard to discern the way.
He thought for a moment and decided to randomly pick a direction to walk.
Perhaps fate was on his side; he hadn’t gone far before hearing faint mountain songs from the woods.
As he drew closer, he found a woodcutter chopping wood.
Alerted by the sound of approaching footsteps, the woodcutter looked over, but upon seeing just a kid, he relaxed a bit.
Then he focused on Liu Xie’s face, noticing the injuries there, “What happened to you?”
“I…” Liu Xie opened his mouth but abruptly stopped.
Initially, he wanted to ask the man to take him to the nearest town so he could quickly return to Chang’an.
But as he instinctively touched his face at the woodcutter’s gaze, a horrifying thought struck him.
Because of Li Jue knocking him out repeatedly, he had no idea what the situation was in Chang’an right now. If Li Jue escaped, it could be Liu Bei regaining the upper hand. Wouldn’t returning to Chang’an put him right in the tiger’s den?
For the past two years, he had lived as a puppet under Dong Zhuo’s control.
He had developed a deep psychological scar from this.
And if his facial wounds didn’t heal…
An emperor with blemishes was against the rules of the Han Dynasty. What about an emperor with a scar?
Quickly, these thoughts flashed in Liu Xie’s mind as he finally stammered, “I… I don’t remember. I was already nearby when I woke up.”
The kind-hearted woodcutter, seeing the kid standing there dazed and lost, immediately set aside his work and replied, “Alright, come with me to my place. I have some medicine for bruises and cuts; we should treat your wounds first. You can think it over there; it’s getting dark soon, and you definitely can’t stay out here feeding wolves.”
Liu Xie felt a mix of gratitude and sadness, thankful he fell without dying, while Li Jue had met his end, and now he had encountered a benevolent woodcutter.
However, he didn’t notice—
As the woodcutter walked towards him, he pushed a pair of binoculars deeper into a basket, hiding it from sight.
