Ji Yu saw that Song Chuyi’s dark eyes were heavy and no longer carried his usual laziness and cynicism.
After standing quietly for a moment, Song Chuyi turned, lifted the curtain, and went out. He cupped his hands in salute to the Marquis of Wey, then said in a voice neither loud nor soft, “May I ask Your Lordship, for what reason must Commander Ji die?”
Through the light gauze, the Marquis of Wey could only vaguely see Song Chuyi’s face, yet that pressing aura needed no expression to make itself felt.
After a long silence, the Marquis of Wey finally said slowly, “The Wei army is bearing down on our borders and demands the execution of Commander Ji. If he does not die, my state of Wey will perish. Tell me, how should I choose?”
Song Chuyi bowed again, turned to the Wei envoy, cupped his hands, and said, “May I ask Your Excellency the Envoy, what crime has Commander Ji committed that has so enraged your state?”
The Wei envoy had been sizing up Song Chuyi for some time. Hearing this, he weighed his words and said, “This gentleman wished to scheme against our Great Wei. Commander Ji escorted him the whole way, so our Great Wei naturally had to take precautions.”
“Good. Since such an extreme punishment was used on Commander Ji, how does your state intend to deal with me? Execution by five carts tearing me apart?” Song Chuyi said coldly.
The Wei envoy’s heart lurched. He thought to himself that he had fallen into a trap. How was he supposed to answer that? The king had ordered that Min Zihuan and Song Huaijin be brought back alive…
“This matter is of great importance and must be decided by my king himself,” the Wei envoy answered after deliberation.
Song Chuyi nodded. “That is only proper. Since the State of Wei conducts matters this way, I have no objection at all. Your Excellency obeys your superior’s orders, and I have nothing to say about that either. However, if today Commander Ji is to be executed on this ground, then it is also very necessary for me to give Your Lordship an explanation and give the State of Wey an explanation.”
“Ji Huan,” Song Chuyi said, then called out loudly.
Ji Huan dashed onto the platform in a few strides. The armored soldiers had not even had time to stop him and could only draw their swords and surround Song Chuyi and Ji Huan.
“Release your sword,” Song Chuyi said.
Ji Huan was stunned for a moment, then handed over the sword in his hand, but Song Chuyi reached out and caught it.
“I, Song Huaijin,” Song Chuyi suddenly turned around and said in a clear, loud voice, “to this day, having eaten others’ bread, I have been loyal to their cause and have never once betrayed the State of Wey midway. I, Song Huaijin, have also never forced fame or profit. My lifelong wish is for the realm to be unified and for the common people to no longer suffer the hardships of war.”
The crowd looked up at the youth on the high platform, whose words were so impassioned, and could not help but be moved. Her features were utterly ordinary, yet at this moment he seemed especially striking and soul-stirring. The thousands of people below the platform stared up at her in dead silence.
Ji Yu stared at the straw curtain, as if trying to see Song Chuyi’s bearing through the obstruction. A person who had always been so unserious had suddenly become so earnest, and it made him very much want to see with his own eyes what difference there would be.
“Now that the State of Wey is in danger and loyal and righteous men are about to die innocent deaths, Song Huaijin cannot escape blame. Today I am willing to die for the state together with Commander Ji, to repay Your Lordship’s kindness in recognizing and employing me.” Song Chuyi turned, lifted his robe, and knelt down, holding up the long sword with both hands. “I have only one request: please, Your Lordship, use this sword to end my life with your own hand, so as to preserve my name of loyalty and righteousness.”
The crowd erupted into an uproar.
This request was indeed not excessive. Song Chuyi was neither a citizen of Wey nor a minister of Wey. He was willing to rush about for the State of Wey – what was he seeking? He was willing to die for the state and preserve Wey. How many people in this world could compare with such moral integrity?
“Master Huaijin is righteous!” someone in the crowd shouted, though it was impossible to tell who.
Ji Mian and Longgu Qing, who had just arrived, stood frozen in place.
Song Huaijin, are you insane? Ji Mian roared inwardly, yet somehow could not make a sound.
Immediately afterward, the crowd followed with loud shouts. “Master Huaijin is righteous!”
The sound echoed through the skies over Puyang, appearing especially solemn and stirring. Such a loyal and righteous deed deserved to be fulfilled, so almost no one stopped Song Chuyi from dying.
Amid such voices, the Wei envoy could not help but knit his brows tightly and turn to look toward where the Marquis of Wey was.
A long while passed.
The Marquis of Wey in the seat of honor stirred, rose, and stepped down from the high platform. He reached out and grasped the bronze sword Song Chuyi was holding up, squinting at the snowy blade in the sunlight. There was not much expression on his aged face.
The crowd fell silent once more, holding their breath and watching the Marquis of Wey’s movements, as if he might slash down with the sword the very next moment.
Song Chuyi’s back was covered in sweat, and her face wore a rare gravity.
Ji Huan had long since been stunned on the spot by Song Chuyi’s actions. Hadn’t they come to save Commander Ji? Why had it suddenly become dying for the state together? Could it be that even she had no way out, and so felt she had failed Commander Ji?
“Song Huaijin, you bastard,” Ji Mian muttered. That morning she had still promised to go back and play liubo with him, and then she changed her mind the moment she turned around. Her words were no different from farting. While everyone’s thoughts were tangled in a hundred ways, the Marquis of Wey suddenly raised the sword, and a flash of cold light gleamed.
In an instant, everyone’s eyes flew wide open. Yet when the blade swept past, only a wisp of Song Chuyi’s black hair fell to the ground.
“Your blood should not stain my blade,” the Marquis of Wey said slowly, thrusting the sword into the earthen platform. “Taking hair in place of the head also counts as preserving your loyalty and righteousness. Today I shall hand you, Min Zihuan, and Ji Yu over to the Wei envoy. After we part, I wish you all the best.”
Song Chuyi performed the grand kneeling salute. When she raised her head again and saw the Marquis of Wey’s retreating figure, she felt that the man’s back seemed to have become a little more hunched.
She let out a breath of relief, only then realizing that her back was drenched in cold sweat.
This round, she had clearly won.
In the palace of Wey.
In a quiet side hall, the Marquis of Wey sat on a soft cushion. The hall was silent, and he had not allowed a single servant or maid to attend him.
All sorts of thoughts surged up, and he suddenly felt a sweetness in his throat. With a “pfft,” he spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Ha.” The Marquis of Wey took out a handkerchief and slowly wiped the corner of his mouth, his face full of self-mockery.
Ever since ascending the throne, he had always endured in silence. He endured not in order to rise one day, but only to drag out a feeble existence. This state of Wey, surrounded by wolves on all sides, had only this one way to survive. He could only suppress everything in his heart and endure.
It was one thing for the King of Wei to pressure and humiliate him – after all, the overwhelming power was right there – but now even Song Huaijin could force him into a dead corner. The Marquis of Wey leaned against the armrest and sighed. This Song Chuyi could actually see through his intention to silence them by killing. Truly not to be underestimated. He never forcibly kept any talent, because the State of Wey could not support their ambitions, but he was absolutely unwilling to hand Song Chuyi and Min Chi over to the King of Wei. So he had planned to get rid of the two of them in private. He had never expected Song Chuyi to openly expose it and, in front of everyone, stretch out his neck.
What was hateful was that he could not act. If he did, he would not only offend the King of Wei, but also cause his reputation among the scholars and common people to plummet.
“No wonder General Longgu strongly recommended him. He is no simple man.” The Marquis of Wey sighed softly.
Song Chuyi’s move seemed to be taking a desperate risk, but in reality it was not so dangerous. Moreover, the result not only salvaged his own reputation, but also saved Ji Yu. Even if it was not a complete escape from danger, for someone like her, once given a chance to buffer, she would certainly think of a way to get out.
The Marquis of Wey lowered his eyes and looked at the pool of blood before him. Depression knotted in his heart once more, and he fiercely slapped the armrest.
