Chapter 146: Chess piece
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
As Mister Guo was Lady Meng's first target, chaos had not yet broken out in the castle when Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus arrived to carry out their mission.
Both of them had arrived at precisely the right moment. They had only been hiding for fifteen minutes when Mister Guo left his house hurriedly with four of his men. Like a wily fox, he had been alerted to the strange activity in the inner residence.
However, just like any other person, Mister Guo had underestimated the abilities and determination of Lady Meng.
Mister Guo was not worried about his own safety but of the safety of an important person, one who was to play a key role in his schemes.
Upon seeing Mister Guo head in the direction of Shangguan Hongye's residence, Gu Shenwei could finally confirm his hunch.
To the Shangguan family, this would be a fierce family fight. To the two young adults on their assassination mission, this would be a rare opportunity to practice their swordsmanship.
Gu Shenwei decided to give Maid Lotus the chance to kill off Mister Guo and his four guards.
Gu Shenwei had seen Mister Guo's skills before and his kung fu skills were as good as that of a first-class killer.
As Maid Lotus had yet to fully remove the influence of the Breaking Obsession , the only way to rekindle the strong killing desire within her was through a brutal massacre.
Due to different interpretations of the Death Scripture , the weakening of Maid Lotus' killing desire had a great impact on her killing intent, which had originally been extremely potent.
Gu Shenwei had no intention to help her. If Maid Lotus was unable to overcome this obstacle, she would not be able to survive in the fort, let alone to become Slave Huan's assistant.
At the crossroads, Maid Lotus raised her "Huan" sword and began her attack.
Her first move was hesitant. But even before the first guard had fallen, she delivered her second move, fluid and natural like running water. Gu Shenwei, who had hidden himself, applauded her silently.
It was an enjoyment to watch the swordcraft of the Death Scripture . Those who used such swordcraft lived as if they were always in danger. Every move was desperate and every counterattack struck down an enemy. To those who did not understand such swordcraft, they would fear for the safety of the user, but to those who understood, it was truly a sight to behold.
Only those with the desire to die and the will to kill had the courage to practice such swordcraft.
The four guards were killed in an instant. Even though Mister Guo had been smart up till now, his last moments saw him commit a mistake. "I had served the Lord for over ten..."
He only made it through half a sentence before he was struck down by Maid Lotus. What he had not understood was that it was precise because of his close friendship with the Supreme King that he was fated to die on this night.
The process of alleviating the Breaking Obsession in Maid Lotus had gone much smoother than that of Gu Shenwei. Even as Gu Shenwei helped her to clear the mess, he could feel the remnant of some killing intent within her.
Compared to Gu Shenwei, Maid Lotus was the more natural killer. Gu Shenwei couldn't help but think, "She was already displaying cold-blooded killer instincts when I first met her and at that time. She hadn't even held a real knife before."
Both of them took out their sabers and made extra cuts around each wound, in attempts to cover up the small and unique wounds. Then, they cut off Mister Guo's head and went into the inner residence.
At that moment, the three o'clock drumbeats sounded. In two hours, the early risers would discover corpses in many parts of the fort. Those who were older and wiser would turn a blind eye but the young who had never seen such a spectacle before would be shocked. The commotion would only die down when their elders had warned them and by late morning, all of the corpses would have disappeared.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were the first to complete their mission and Lady Meng was very pleased with them. She left them in the hall as temporary Shadow Guards. One of them would hide up in the rafters while the other would hide in the shadows behind the pillar.
More and more people gathered in the Inner Residence.
Shangguan Yushi arrived, bringing a knife and standing at Lady Meng's side as a personal guard.
A senior maid who served as a scribe was hidden in the penthouse. A few cases, which were covered with papers, lay in front of her. Two junior maids were in charge of serving her. Whenever Lady Meng gave her order, the scribe would write it down immediately before handing the paper to Lady Meng for checking. The paper would then be passed on to another maid to receive the stamp of the Lord's golden seal.
This was how the assassination order of Mister Guo had come about. But without the Supreme King's acknowledgment of these missions, all involved parties would find it difficult to evade punishment. Yet, Lady Meng's increasingly reckless movements made Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus very uneasy.
The Sixth Mistress of the Meng family stood in the doorway and led several women who were in charge of passing messages.
Shangguan Ru had started helping her mother out much earlier than her brother, Shangguan Fei. She had even begun helping her mother make plans and distribute manpower, shuttling between the main hall and the penthouse to deliver the paper.
As more and more people heard the news, more and more people gathered around the main hall. For those who had returned from their missions, Lady Meng didn't give them the next assignment, but bade them stay in the rooms located around the main hall. When the rooms ran out, those who returned from their missions later were made to stand in the courtyard. In clusters, they looked at one another silently. No one made a sound.
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus were not the only youth being exploited. In fact, some of the first batch of assassins had come from the Little Flag Battalion. They too, had shared the same fate as the twins.
While guarding the main hall, Gu Shenwei gradually began to understand Lady Meng's entire plan.
Although Mister Guo had viewed Shangguan Hongye and his mother as pawns, he himself was also being controlled by others and was not worthy of Lady Meng's regard. This time, she wanted to eliminate the problem at its root. Her target was First Young Master, Shangguan Chui.
The discord between Shangguan Chui and Lady Meng was deeply rooted in a long history.
The status of Shangguan Chui had once been very stable, and everyone thought that he was the natural successor. But things began to change after the Meng family ladies entered the fort.
Lady Meng knew Supreme King inside out and Shangguan Fa acceded to all her requests without ever once denying her. When the twins were born, she became greatly favored. This gradually undermined the status of Shangguan Cui, who realized that even his own younger brothers, who once gave him the utmost respect, had betrayed him and had sided with the new wife.
Just like any wealthy and capable heir, Shangguan Chui became jealous and anxious.
Lady Meng gained the support of the Second, Sixth and Eighth Young Masters, who were all dissatisfied with their big brother. She made use of her unique authority in the Inner Residence to buy a large number of slaves and handymen.
In the end, Shangguan Chui had been defeated by several humble handymen.
In order to eliminate his anxiety, he secretly resorted to witchcraft. Even though he thought his actions had gone undiscovered, an unsuspecting cleaner took notice.
Despite having the knowledge for several years, Lady Meng made no move to act upon it. Instead, she forked out large sums of money to the cleaner to gather more incriminating information.
Of all the information she had gathered, this was merely one of the secrets. She was simply waiting for the right moment to act.
However, it was the information provided by Maid Lotus that prompted Lady Meng to act in advance.
Supreme King, Shangguan Fa believed in a long-standing superstition, that he would have ten sons -- an auspicious sign. In order to make up for this number, he regarded his youngest daughter as a son. This was likely the reason why Shangguan Ru was favored.
If the twins became Young Masters, Lady Meng would gain stature while the First Young Master would have less influence. At this critical juncture, Madam Yang, who was regarded as a humiliation in the Inner Residence, decided to make a desperate attempt to fight back.
She had once had an affair with her husband's brother and bore him a child. This child was Shangguan Hongye. When her husband was alive, she kept the secret to herself but when her husband passed and Lady Meng become the head of the Inner Residence, she did not dare to disclose the secret. Hence, Shangguan Fa never knew that he had an illegitimate son.
Madam Yang told First Young Master this secret, hoping that she could gain his support. She hoped that Shangguan Hongye's status could be acknowledged and that she could consequently live a better life.
Shangguan Cui and Mister Guo quickly realized that this was a great opportunity. As Shangguan Hongye posed no real threat to First Young Master, grooming Shangguan Hongye in exchange for his allegiance would give Shangguan Fa his "ten" sons while supplanting Shangguan Ru. Thus, the power balance would be restored.
Upon hearing the Maid Lotus' information, Lady Meng understood the enemy's plot and knew she had to act decisively.
There was just one thing that Gu Shenwei, and all others in the palace, did not understand. Where was Supreme King? Why was the Lord's seal in the hands of Lady Meng?
At dawn, the important people who were in the fort woke to a shock and immediately went searching for their true masters. In the chaos, some rushed to First Young Master's residence and some went to the Inner Residence. In that split second, their fates were decided. Those who were loyal to Shangguan Cui, had decided to pay allegiance to Lady Meng. Those who had received money from Lady Meng before, were paying allegiance to Shangguan Chui.
The guards stationed around the fort were of no help. Most killers had hidden themselves so as to remain neutral. Only a few of them started attacking and the youth from the Little Flag Battalion prevailed.
It was advantageous for Lady Meng to keep her supporters by her side. In the first few hours of chaos, there was no clear winner. Any minor reason could lead to a major betrayal. Even at the seven-fold threat to their lives, and as more and more cases of assassination erupted, Lady Meng's supporters remained unswayed.
The first of Lady Meng's "supporters" were all female, but as more and more supporters joined, the majority became male. Heart Cleansing Yard's blademaster, Shen Liang was the uncle of Eighth Young Master, Shangguan Nu. He, representing both himself and his nephew, came to support Lady Meng and became one of her closest allies.
Heart Cleansing Yard was in charge of discipline in the Golden Roc Fort. It had the clearest understanding of the situation in the fort so as to could collect information more efficiently. In no time, it brought back good news: "Lady Meng's preemptive strategy had won a large victory. First Young Master had incurred many casualties and deaths. Mister Guo's death had dealt a big blow to Shangguan Cui, who had panicked and gave contradictory orders, causing his men to lose faith in him. While Heart Cleansing Yard was doing reconnaissance, many people rushed to Inner Residence to bring about retribution for Lady Meng."
Lady Meng had not yet delivered her final offensive order and her family members were getting anxious given their public opposition of First Young Master. Were they not to completely defeat the enemy and Shangguan Chui was to regain his influence, he would surely take revenge on them.
But Lady Meng still needed the support of one important person. Out of all the orders, this was the only mission that had not gone as she planned and she was extremely disappointed.
At a quarter to six in the morning, the sky was bright. Most people in the fort were awake and had discovered the great turn of events that occurred in one night. Most of them were ambivalent about which party to side with, but could not do so. They could only wait uneasily.
Meanwhile, the "pawn" that Lady Meng had been waiting for finally arrived.
Several brown-belt assassins ran into the main hall of the Inner Residence carrying a man over his shoulder. The man was scared stiff and when the assassins released him, he fell to the ground, shivering.
Gu Shenwei snuck a glance from behind the pillar. He recognised the person. It was Shangguan Hongye.
Supreme King's illegitimate son had not been able to escape.