Peace Order

Chapter 1856 - 3: Hearts, Ministers, Emperors, the Raging Tide

Xue Peijun’s breathing turned a little rapid as she watched the scene unfold before her. The emperor’s favored courtier, Guanglu Doctor Guo Yanjun, died just like that, his neck torn open, blood splattering all over the ground, a horrifying sight.

She looked at the Divine General before her.

"Th-this is..."

Yuwen Lie spoke briefly and to the point, his voice cool:

"You are Xue Daoyong’s daughter. Jiang Yuan does not trust you."

"And by association, it implicates Qin Yulong."

Xue Peijun’s feelings were rather mixed. She had a free and easy temperament, so that when she roamed the Martial World she was able to befriend Qin Yulong; the two took to each other, fell in love, and married without ever telling Xue Daoyong.

She had already harbored hidden misgivings in her heart.

She worried whether her birth and background would affect Qin Yulong in any way.

But those worries had never, until now, struck her so directly. It left Xue Peijun a little dazed. Yuwen Lie swept a glance at the Qin Mansion and said, "Pack your things."

Xue Peijun did not react for a moment.

She bit her lip. She knew her husband was in fact not on the same side as Yuwen Lie. She knew of the conflict between Yuwen Lie and the Xue Family, and with Li Guanyi, and so there was a trace of wariness in her heart. She merely deflected, saying, "It was only a treacherous courtier. Why worry so much?"

Yuwen Lie said, "There are no treacherous courtiers."

Xue Peijun was stunned.

The handsome, austere Divine General said coldly, "What’s above is followed below. So‑called close attendants who are treacherous and fawning are merely guessing at their lord’s wishes. If Jiang Yuan’s heart had not changed, Guo Yanjun would not have come here."

"The truly vile one is Jiang Yuan."

"Those who died today were merely his hands."

Xue Peijun’s heart trembled, and she faintly came to a decision. At a time like this, facing upheaval and danger, with the situation shifting, it was hard to make any judgment. But she was, after all, Xue Daoyong’s daughter. In just a few breaths she said, "...Then I must trouble you, General."

Yuwen Lie inclined his head. "Select your household members and pack your belongings."

"I will be right back."

Divine General Yuwen Lie wore only a white robe like that of a refined scholar. Gripping his heavy spear, he walked out of the Qin Mansion. The men Guo Yanjun had brought were still frozen in terror. Yuwen Lie saw a Battle Halberd standing on each side of the main gate of Qin Yulong’s residence, bestowed back then by Jiang Wanxiang as a sign of Military Merit.

With a movement of the heavy spear in his hand, he set the Battle Halberds on either side of the gate to ringing and howling, shaking them loose so they leapt into the air. He smashed a fist onto the butt ends of the halberds.

The Battle Halberds howled like dragons and bored straight outward.

They spun out along the road ahead.

The murderous aura they carried slaughtered all the men Guo Yanjun had brought, blood splattering onto the ground. Yuwen Lie swung onto his horse, heavy spear in hand, and galloped straight to the Guo residence, his expression indifferent as he drove his horse directly into Guo Yanjun’s mansion.

The long spear swept Zongheng, and he directly exterminated the entire Guo Yanjun clan.

Then he came out, a fierce breath in his chest still not yet vented.

His brows and eyes cold and detached, he actually gave a tug on the reins and, within the imperial city itself, spurred his horse into a wild gallop straight toward the palace gates. The commotion was so great that everyone in the palace could sense it.

The Imperial Army blocked the Imperial Path, and they truly saw Yuwen Lie coming with spear in hand.

The Great General of the Imperial Army felt a shock of terror in his heart, though he still forced his expression under control and shouted, "General Yu Wen, why do you come here bearing a Weapon!"

Yuwen Lie did not answer.

The Great General of the Imperial Army felt the fear in his heart grow heavier and heavier.

He could only grip his Weapon tightly and shout, "Form ranks!"

The Imperial Army formed up, trying to block Yuwen Lie. Yuwen Lie held the heavy spear in his right hand. The long spear howled and roared in the wind; then he raised it, gathering force, and smashed it down toward the front.

With a sharp clang.

A horse spear swept out crosswise, directly intercepting Yuwen Lie’s thrust. Yuwen Lie glanced sideways and saw He Ruoqinhu, robed, Weapon in hand, blocking this strike. He Ruoqinhu’s eyes bulged with fury, as if hating iron for not becoming steel, and he roared:

"Yuwen Lie, what are you doing?!"

Gripping his Weapon with both hands, he pressed that heavy spear back toward Yuwen Lie, lowering his voice to a hurried, harsh whisper: "Riding armed into the forbidden precincts—Yuwen Lie, do you intend rebellion?!"

Yuwen Lie said, "I only came to seek justice."

He Ruoqinhu said, "What justice?!"

Yuwen Lie said coldly, "Even if Your Majesty’s lust ran deeper, ancient kings had three palaces and six courts, yet he has a full sixteen courts of beauties and still that’s not enough for him. He even set his eyes on the wife of Qin Yulong."

A nameless fire rose in He Ruoqinhu’s heart.

His hands could hardly hold his Weapon; he almost wished to turn around and charge in together with Yuwen Lie. But his status and his connections all dictated that he could not act rashly. He said, "This matter—this matter may have hidden twists. How can you so lightly draw blades and spears?!"

"Yuwen Lie, put away your Weapon. I will go with you to face the Emperor."

Yuwen Lie did not withdraw his Weapon.

Seeing the situation slipping out of control, He Ruoqinhu said:

"Duke Jingwu, Divine Might General, do you truly not understand enduring for the sake of the greater trend?!"

Yuwen Lie said coldly, "The Divine Might General can endure."

"Yuwen Lie cannot."

The White Tiger roared fiercely; he actually roused his valiant strength and forcibly shook He Ruoqinhu’s Weapon aside. Yuwen Lie was over forty. In foundation and realm he might be roughly on par with He Ruoqinhu, but his surging blood and Qi, and the formidable physique of the White Tiger Sect, placed him above the aging He Ruoqinhu.

Then another shouted, "General Yu Wen, have you forgotten the Yuwen Family?!"

"General Yu Wen, do you mean to ruin the realm of the late Emperor?!"

Yuwen Lie’s movements halted.

Wei Yiwen had arrived. Although this Prime Minister had clashed with Emperor Jiang Yuan many times, at this moment he unhesitatingly stood on the side of imperial power. Yuwen Lie looked coldly at the other famed generals and great ministers who had now gathered here.

All of them blocked his way.

Yuwen Lie’s Jin Qi had already shaken the palace gates, splitting them with a crack, but these distinguished ministers and generals barred his path. All at once Yuwen Lie understood that the edge of his spear could not pierce this time’s opponent.