SEHE Chapter 157.1

Trapped in a Jar 

After all, he was only twelve years old. Gu Yisui broke down sobbing. “You’re a traitor!”

The words had barely left his mouth before he hastily tried to walk them back. “Second Sister and Fourth Brother both said you were a traitor — Zhen was only repeating what they said.”

Tangxi Zhui snapped open his ebony folding fan, spinning it twice between his fingers, the sharp tip pressing straight against Gu Yisui’s throat.

At that very moment, Gu Jiuqing led the Imperial Guards bursting through the doors.

“Don’t come any closer,” Tangxi Zhui said. “Unless you want the Emperor alive, let us go.”

“Fourth Brother, save Zhen!” Gu Yisui had long forgotten his dignity in that moment, reaching out toward him with both hands — and the motion caused his neck to brush against the concealed blade hidden at the end of the fan’s ribbing, drawing blood.

He wiped at it with his hand, then lost all control and began shrieking.

“It was obviously you and Gu Yueqian who orchestrated everything — why should Zhen bear the consequences? Zhen was only coerced into luring people into the palace! Why should Zhen die — what are you doing? Stay back, you’re too close to him, be careful—”

Gu Yisui watched as Gu Jiuqing snatched a bow and arrow from a soldier beside him, drew it taut, and trained his gaze and the arrowhead directly on Tangxi Zhui. His heart leapt straight into his throat.

Then suddenly, he saw Gu Jiuqing’s angle shift at the very last moment — tilting toward him — as a cold, contemptuous smile curved at the corner of his mouth.

Not the man beside him. Him.

“I—”

In that instant, the body’s primal instinct shattered every limit. He would rather risk having his head cut off by flinging himself aside than face that arrow.

“Ahh—!”

He was a step too slow in the end. The arrow caught him just barely off his vital points — burying itself in his shoulder as blood poured freely from his neck.

“F*ck you!” The words he hadn’t managed to curse inwardly at last burst from his lips.

“My apologies, Your Majesty.” Gu Jiuqing nocked another arrow. “Two traitors were holding Your Majesty hostage, committing treason and rebellion. This prince intended to shoot down the villains, but inadvertently wounded Your Majesty’s sacred person. This prince begs forgiveness.”

And with that, he drew the bow again.

“This prince respectfully requests that Your Majesty keep his mouth shut.”

Tangxi Zhui immediately abandoned the now-useless Gu Yisui and pulled Pei Yanci deeper into the main hall.

The arrow flew straight and true through the air. At the last breathless instant, it grazed Pei Yanci’s scalp and nailed itself into the great pillar before him.

Even Pei Yanci could not help but feel his legs go a little weak. He was dragged by Tangxi Zhui without argument into the deeper recesses of the hall.

“Give chase!”

“Whoever kills the two traitors gets three promotions!”

“Yes!”

Gu Jiuqing tossed the bow aside and drew the sword at his hip, pursuing them from behind.

At the base of the steps before the hall, Gu Yisui was quickly helped up by palace maids and attendants and escorted back to his bedchambers.

Pei Yanci followed Tangxi Zhui as they sprinted through the great hall. Soldiers who had gotten ahead of them came rushing back, slashing toward his back without warning.

He barely dodged, broke free of Tangxi Zhui’s grip, and dispatched the soldiers in two or three moves — sidestepping their blades, cutting down three or four men in the blink of an eye.

Tangxi Zhui retreated a few steps, his ebony fan spinning through the air. A spray of fine needles and a faint mist of haze sent a dozen soldiers crumpling to the ground.

“Go — they want my life, not yours.”

Pei Yanci spoke urgently, giving him a sharp tug toward the rear gate of the palace, gesturing for him to stop wasting time here.

“Do you really think they intend to let me walk out of Xuanwei Palace on my own two feet tonight?” Tangxi Zhui tugged at the corner of his mouth. “If they lay a hand on you, they’ll do it over my dead body.”

Pei Yanci said nothing. He only swept a sharp, fierce gaze across the dark press of bodies surrounding them.

Fewer than a hundred men?

What gave Gu Jiuqing such confidence? The two of them both knew martial arts — Tangxi Zhui was an exceptional fighter. Even at his most arrogant, Gu Jiuqing shouldn’t have come with so few men.

The rest hadn’t arrived yet.

“Don’t get drawn into a prolonged fight. Move — there’s still a chance if we get out of the palace now!” Pei Yanci said quickly.

They fought as they fell back. As long as they cleared Xuanwei Palace, the Elu Bureau’s people would learn of the situation soon enough and come to meet them.

Tangxi Zhui shoved open the rear gate, blocked a sword aimed at Pei Yanci, and the two of them sprinted along the palace corridor.

On either side rose the towering halls with their golden tiles and red walls, and the path seemed to stretch on without end — long and wide and desolate.

Watching the two of them move in wordless coordination, as seamless as a single person’s left and right hand, Gu Jiuqing’s fury surged until he could contain it no longer. He bellowed, “Whoever kills him gets a thousand taels of gold!”

Several men from the Cui family had circled around and came rushing down the corridor from the far end, joining up with Gu Jiuqing and pressing forward.

The imperial palace was vast. Tonight, it seemed especially so.

Night closed in on all sides, the entire palace swallowed in shadow.

Tonight, not a single lamp was lit.

The moon had crept up at some point unnoticed, spilling a floor of pale, clear radiance.

Then that white light was spattered with scalding blood — the moonlight mottled and stained, trampled underfoot by countless boots.

Tangxi Zhui let out a muffled grunt, spun, and moved toward the Cui family men.

Pei Yanci ran a few steps, then paused when Tangxi Zhui didn’t follow.

He was already utterly spent. His arms were trembling with exhaustion, barely able to lift a sword or blade. The web of his hand was numb and raw — the skin torn open from gripping and swinging too hard, slick with blood.

Many of the men before them were seasoned fighters.

More people came pouring out from the narrow paths between the palace halls ahead — from every direction, dense and swarming.

So those who had come earlier were only a fraction of them. It seemed Gu Jiuqing was intent on finishing him off tonight.

He closed his eyes for a moment, swept through every name in his mind — and found not a single one who might appear here.

To face death without flinching, to come running without a moment’s hesitation, for the sake of saving him.

Aside from Tangxi Zhui, only he would do that.

But he, like himself, was trapped in this very same place.

He turned and ran back to Tangxi Zhui’s side, catching a blade aimed straight at a vital point just in time — deflecting it with every last ounce of strength he had left.

Tangxi Zhui quickly steadied his swaying body and moved to shield him.

There was no running now.

Even if the Elu Bureau received word — whether they would dare storm the imperial palace was another matter entirely. And even if Huo Cun sent them in, would they make it in time?

Tangxi Zhui’s fan swept out and claimed the throat of the Cui family man from before.

“Ahh—!” Blood sprayed in all directions. The man’s eyes went wide in disbelief; he let out two rasping gurgles, then collapsed into the pool of blood.

“Fourth Brother!” The remaining Cui family members rushed forward to catch the body.

Tangxi Zhui held Pei Yanci, now drained of all strength, as they stepped back — until their backs pressed against the rough red wall, leaving a smear of blood behind them.

The venom-tipped needles hidden in the fan’s ribbing gleamed with a dark, cold green. For a brief moment they stood in tense standoff against the cold points of swords and blades closing in around them.

Pei Yanci had no strength left at all. His entire body leaned against Tangxi Zhui’s chest, his pale face flecked with dots of blood, looking rather the worse for wear.

Gu Jiuqing stepped out from among the blades and armor, posture elegant and unhurried, a trace of satisfaction breaking through his expression. “Pei Yanci — do you regret it?”

Pei Yanci was briefly taken aback. Of all things to say at a moment like this.

Victory to the winner, death to the loser — that was simply how it went. Surely no one waited until the moment before death to regret having rebelled, regret having reached for the throne. That kind of resolve was supposed to have been settled the very instant one made the decision.

Slowly, a shimmer rose in Pei Yanci’s eyes — bright and clear, defiant and without any notion of how to bow his head. He laughed, cold and disdainful. “How would it matter if I regretted it, and how would it matter if I didn’t?”

“You will die tonight without question,” Gu Jiuqing said. “The Southern Yamen’s Imperial Guards have the palace surrounded on all sides. The two of you are destined to be ghosts beneath this prince’s blade. However—”

Before Pei Yanci could speak, something shifted in Gu Jiuqing’s gaze — a glint of amusement rising there. “This prince is not entirely opposed to sparing your life.”

Pei Yanci had not yet responded when the Cui family men spoke first, voices rising with agitation.

“Your Highness, this is nothing like what we agreed upon.”

“He killed our kin — blood must be repaid with blood!”

“This one is full of schemes and tricks. He absolutely cannot be left alive.”

“Your Highness, cutting the grass and pulling up the roots is the only sound course.”

Gu Jiuqing raised a hand to silence their outcry and said, “Only if you kill Tangxi Zhui.”

Pei Yanci turned to look at the man beside him in startled disbelief — then slowly, wariness settled over his face. He let go of Tangxi Zhui’s hand.

“Xiao Pei’er, you want to kill me?” Tangxi Zhui stared at him with an expression of utter disbelief.

“I have no choice, Tangxi,” Pei Yanci said. “I want to live. If you were in my position, you would make the same choice.”

“Ha! Ha ha ha ha! Pei Yanci — this prince knew he had not misjudged you.” Gu Jiuqing laughed. “You mock this prince for being incapable of true devotion, and yet look at how you treat the people around you.”

He turned toward Tangxi Zhui. “Do you see it now? Between the two of you, there was never anything real. So-called true feeling — in the face of life and death, it shatters with a single tap.”

Pei Yanci laughed at him for being cold and self-serving — yet what was he himself?

“True feeling can be given to anyone,” Pei Yanci said. “But there is only one life.”

“Your martial arts were taught to you by me,” Tangxi Zhui said, then shifted his gaze to Gu Jiuqing. “If I were to kill Pei Yanci today — could his head serve as my pledge of loyalty, enough to spare my life?”

“Your Highness, you gave me your word first,” Pei Yanci said, voice sharpening with anger. “There is absolutely no reason to make the same promise to him.”

Gu Jiuqing watched the two of them turn on each other like fighting dogs, and felt a deep, smooth satisfaction rise in his chest. “Pei Yanci — this prince’s favor could have leaned toward you. Regrettably, you are too hard-hearted, and the Elu Bureau is far too tempting. Tonight, only one of you two will leave alive. Choose for yourselves.”

Tangxi Zhui and Pei Yanci locked eyes, wariness sharp between them. After a long moment, Pei Yanci gave a broken laugh. “To think there would come a day like this between us.”

“The world is unpredictable. Just as I never imagined there would come a day when you would abandon me.”

“Abandon?” Gu Jiuqing raised an eyebrow. “The two of you have parted ways?”

“I never abandoned him,” Pei Yanci said, his voice composed. “We simply had a disagreement… Though perhaps that is not quite accurate either. He struck me.”

Gu Jiuqing’s expression immediately darkened. “He dared to hurt you!”

That was a person he himself had never been willing to touch.

“That is because I saw you and this surnamed Gu being intimate — and you still wanted to become his consort!” Tangxi Zhui’s voice rose with fury. “I already gave you my word, and yet you threw me aside over something so trivial. Is what you feel for me in your heart really worth nothing? You were swayed by the promises Gu Jiuqing made you — the promise of becoming consort — and decided to kick me aside. Isn’t that the truth?!”

“And what did you expect? If it weren’t for you, how would I have ended up in this position!” Pei Yanci snapped back. “Always acting on your own, and only coming clean when I’ve already found out. I don’t need you doing things in my name and calling it ‘for my own good.’ At the end of the day, it was still deception — concealment — manipulation!”

As he spoke, his hand shot out toward one of the Cui family men. He pivoted, fingers curling into a claw, aimed straight for the man’s throat.

The man beside him moved with eyes and hands faster still — a sharp palm strike came cracking down and broke Pei Yanci’s wrist clean.

“Ugh—” Pei Yanci stumbled backward, caught by Tangxi Zhui.

“Seventh Brother, are you all right?”

“Second Brother, I’m fine.”

“Ah, the Cui family general who never got his promotion.” Pei Yanci forced a laugh to cover the sharp hiss of his breath. “Your eldest brother came to me about it once — pity Cui Ya had to go and ruin things. If not for him, you would have been the Grand General Supporting the Nation long ago. You wouldn’t have needed to risk your head storming the imperial palace in the dead of night.”

“Pei Yanci — this prince nearly underestimated you.” Gu Jiuqing’s gaze turned sharp and deadly, his whole bearing radiating killing intent.