Chapter 5: The Little Diviner Saves Her Clan
Edward Quan ·
The arrow whistled through the air.
He frowned into the distance.
The capital was usually lively, never short of merchants' cries.
Now the gate stood wide open.
No one entered or left.
An unnatural stillness covered everything.
"Your Highness, the signal's gone up. No answer."
"Something seems wrong inside. Shall we hold our position and return to report first?"
The Crown Prince tightened his reins.
"Father is personally overseeing the executions at the market gate today."
"Wherever he goes, the common people clear the way."
His gaze darkened.
"There won't be another chance."
He turned.
The wind flung his crimson cloak across the dark army behind him.
"Elite cavalry! Hear my command!"
He drew his sword.
"Follow me. Behead the foolish ruler and remake the realm!"
All five thousand horsemen were the Eastern Palace's personal guard.
They escorted him through the eastern gate and straight toward the execution ground.
Blood already ran like a river there.
Severed heads littered the earth.
The Crown Prince's eyes were cold.
Father had grown old.
A little scheming was enough to deceive him.
Make him execute loyal subjects.
Fill the people with resentment.
As Crown Prince, he would follow Heaven and the people's will by replacing a foolish ruler.
Why shouldn't he?
He led the charge and cut off an imperial guard's head.
Steel flashed.
Heads fell, just as the Xies' had.
A eunuch stood before the imperial carriage, shrieking, "Protect His Majesty!"
The cavalry attacked the guards and surrounded the ground.
At the center of the execution platform, a tiny girl held a severed head and sobbed.
"Eldest Brother…"
The Crown Prince glanced at it.
Xie Hang.
The once-glorious top scholar.
His own teacher.
Now head and body parted.
That was what happened to anyone who exposed his affair with the Consort.
I weighed the "head" in my arms and slowly stood.
The Crown Prince and his deputy cut their way toward the imperial carriage.
His bloodstained sword lifted the curtain.
A corner of a bright yellow dragon robe appeared.
"Your son greets Father."
The curtain stood between father and son, giving the patricide courage to make his final choice.
"You're old, Father."
"It's time you rested."
"I'll send you to the imperial mausoleum. You'll be buried with every honor."
He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath.
When he opened them, murderous intent was plain.
An instant later, blood spattered the curtain.
He paused.
So this was how it felt to drive steel into the heart of the Son of Heaven.
Soft.
No different from killing commoners.
"Your Majesty…"
The defending eunuch collapsed and kowtowed repeatedly.
The Crown Prince flung the curtain up.
The Emperor's head hung low.
His face was hidden.
A red hole gaped in his abdomen.
The Prince stared.
That rigid posture…
It would make laying him in a coffin difficult.
No.
His heart seemed to hang in midair, pounding so hard he could barely breathe.
The black clouds sank lower.
Then a child's voice sounded.
He spun around.
Straight into my eyes.
Both little hands strained to hold the "head" high.
Plop.
Its black hair fell to the ground.
"Your Highness, would you like some watermelon?"
I coughed twice.
I'd wanted this melon for ages.
"No? It's sweet."
I let go.
Crack!
It hit the ground and split.
I chose a piece and took a great bite.
Cool.
Sweet.
At last, the Crown Prince panicked.
He tore down the carriage curtain so hard that the body inside toppled sideways.
Its head tilted.
The face was exposed.
His pupils contracted.
The person in the carriage was none other than Consort Yu, dressed in the Emperor's dragon robe.
She'd been dead for some time.
His sword had only struck the cavity left in her emptied belly.
"Lan… Lan'er…"
He stumbled backward.
Something caught his foot.
A "corpse" lay facedown on the ground.
Its head rolled several feet away.
A green watermelon with black stripes.
Cracked.
Straw poked from the join between neck and body.
The cavalry watched everything unfold.
Their horses grew restless.
The execution of the Xie clan had been a trap.
The Crown Prince's face flushed red.
He vaulted onto his horse.
"Five hundred thousand troops wait outside! The capital is mine!"
"Kill them! Loose arrows!"
I finished my slice and wiped my mouth.
"Your Highness."
"The gates are closed."
"You only have your five thousand cavalry now."