"The Commander of the Imperial guard will take twenty thousand Imperial Guards and secure Veiled Mountain. Search the whole mountain and imprison any lone smugglers or small scale smugglers found on the mountain. All large scales smugglers found are to be immediately granted death. Each smuggler has a Shadow, so there will be no mistakes. No one is allowed entry into the mountain. Is that understood?
Rising from his seat and bowing, the Commander of the Imperial Guard said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
"The Commander of Wang Fèn Yǒng Shadow Warriors will be in charge of Exterminating the large scale smugglers and all nine generations of their family. He will also be in charge of Imprisoning the small scale smugglers and lone smugglers. At the same time, you are to secure all warehouses both inside and outside of the Imperial City. No one is to approach within 100 feet of each warehouse. I will give you Ten Thousand Dragoon Imperial Warriors to assist you. The activities of tonight will free up most of the Shadow Warrior that are currently Shadowing. In the morning, the Dragoon Imperial Warrior is to return to their post, and you will utilize the Shadow Warrior that had been freed up."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the Shadow Commander said as he rose from his seat and bowed deeply.
"Cùn Yīn" Called the Emperor
Following the sound of his call, a Shadow Warrior appeared in the room. "Your Majesty," the shadow warrior answered bowing before the Emperor.
"During this period, time have any of the maids or eunuchs left the courtyard?" The Emperor asked for the second time that night.
"Yes Your Majesty," The Emperors' shadow guard said
"Speak" the Emperor commanded
"One of the maids said she had to relieve herself. After she left, she snuck off to Noble Consort Peng's courtyard. She was granted death before she could enter. Her body was quickly and quietly carried away before anyone noticed."
"Hehe," the emperor coldly laughed. "What a good sister the Prime Minister has. Since she has courted death, then I will grant it. Immediately have her taken to the cold palace and grant her poison. Kill all of her servants. Have the Imperial Dragoon Warriors detaining the Prime Minister in the throne room grant him death." The Emperor Commanded.
Those words of the emperor changed the course of history of The Tolling Lands and the entire continent of the Northern Lands. In the past life of Liu Tián Qu's predecessor the Prime Minister was the one who had bought the map of the Northern Lands, he was also the one who deliberately weakened the country and triggered off a war with an enemy country. During the war his betrayal of the country almost tore the Tolling Lands apart.
However, now that he was granted death before he could carry out his misdeeds of the past. It changed everything.
"Yes, your Majesty," the Shadow Warrior bowed before disappearing from the Imperial War Room.
"We will also take this opportunity to clean up the city a bit. Every unauthorized messenger house and carrier pigeon or fowl house in the imperial city is to be wiped out." Looking towards the minister of war, the Emperor continued, "Minister of War in the last report I received from you of the known spies and spy houses and hidden spies and hidden spy houses you asked to be granted permission to clean them out.
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I now grant you that permission. I will give you one thousand Gou Archers, and Ten thousand Imperial Immortal Warriors to get this task done. Wipe them all out.
"It will be Your Majesty commanded," The Minister of war said as he rose from his seat and bowed.
"Tonight, I will be leaving for the borders. I ask Royal Grandfather to stand guard for me."The Emperor said, looking over at his grandfather.
"It will be as the Emperor says," The Elder said, giving a small bow to The Emperor.
"Imperial Grandfather will lead the five generals, in purging the city of all the traitors and all nine generations of their family. That includes the family of Prime Minister Peng, as well. All documentation found in the Manors of these traitors must be brought back to the place. I also ask Imperial Grandfather to personally oversee the clerks as they go through the documentation bought back from the houses of the traitors for me. All the various Ministers, Guards, and Patrols must be exterminated. There is no room in my country for traitors. I will also leave the merchants to Imperial Grandfather." The emperor said
"Yes, Your Majesty," The Elder and Five Generals bowed.
"I will be taking Twenty Thousand Gòu Army Warriors, Thirty Thousand Shā Qì Warriors, and Twenty Thousand Shadow Dragoon Warriors. We will be traveling using a newly found mountain path discovered from the map of the continent of the Northern Lands. This path will cut our travel time down by one third. I will leave everything else in the hands of Imperial Grandfather. I also leave the command of the country and the military in Imperial Grandfather's hands until I return."
"I will await your return. Go safely and return safely. " The elder responded.
The meeting ended a short while later. The Queen was summoned, and The Emperor, Elder Wang, and the Queen sealed themselves in the Emperors' work studio for one hour. Only they knew what was discussed, and shortly after, the emperor left the city. Then the rivers of blood begin to flow.
****************
Liu Residence
It was last in the evening, but for some reason, Liu Tián Qǔ couldn't rest. She felt unease and a deep restlessness. For a while, she paced throughout her chambers. Jiang Tài Píng had arrived a while ago, and Liu Tián Qǔ along with Housekeeper Gao, had personally escorted him to the Commander's courtyard. Seeing how exhausted Commander Jiang's wife was. Liu Tián Qǔ left them in the care of the maids Housekeeper Gao sent to serve them. In the end, instead of just one maid, Housekeeper Gao also sent an older momo who had given birth to four children in the past and knew much about childcare and recovering from giving birth.
Lady Jiang was so exhausted but so happy to receive help tears fell from her eyes. It was clear to all to see she was not doing well. On top of being very sick, she tried her best to care for her child. However, there was only so much she could do. Plus with the medicine she was taking, she could no longer breastfeed. Lady Jiang was so happy to find out that one of the maids sent to serve her was a wet nurse. She was beside her self with gratitude. After Liu Tián Qǔ escorted the family to their courtyard. Liu Tián Qǔ left it to their maids to get them settled in.
Liu Tián Qǔ was now in the chambers of her courtyard. After pacing back and forth for a while in her chambers, she stepped out of her chambers into the peach blossom gardens of her courtyard. The courtyard was lit by both stone lampposts that lined the walkways of her courtyard, and the moon that hung so beautifully in the sky and cast a beautiful glow down on the courtyard.
As Liu Tián Qǔ roamed her courtyard, her thoughts went on her family of her past life. She missed them so desperately that it formed a physical aching pain in her heart. She wondered how everyone was doing and if they were all well. Homesickness wash over her, although Liu Tián Qǔ was happy to be alive and glad to be somewhere new, trying out something different. She really missed her father, sister, brother, mother, and her nephew Little Taro. She also wondered what happened to her body. If she died or if she was in a coma in a hospital somewhere hooked up to a thousand machines.
Releasing a long hard breath, Liu Tián Qǔ decided that dwelling on the past would do her no good. It would benefit her more to focus on the present. In the still of the night, Liu Tián Qǔ was able to faintly hear the large amount of activity going on next door in the Wang Royal Manor. However, she just figured that the warriors were probably preparing to secure Veiled Mountain and didn't pay the situation any more attention. Instead, she figured it would benefit her more to do something more constructive instead of pacing around like a wandering ghost. She decided to look into her predecessor's memories regarding her new Commander.