NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1132: Taboos
Shen Qingzhu, clad in tight attire, stood beside Bai Qingyan, his expression cold and stern as he looked at the Great Shaman's disciple.
Yang Wuce also stood nearby, gesturing for the prison guard to move the brazier closer to Bai Qingyan.
The person here to interrogate the disciple of the Great Shaman was one of Yang Wuce's soldiers, who claimed to have learned some methods at the Zhao family's military interrogation center. Although their techniques were not as brutal as those of the Zhao family soldiers, they were more wearisome. Any tongue interrogated by them would be ready to confess.
Earlier, Bai Qingyan didn't want Bai Qingyu and Bai Jinzhi to worry, so she let them escort her back to her residence. Once they left, she came to this dungeon with Shen Qingzhu.
"Bring a chair for the disciple of the Great Shaman from Tianfeng Kingdom," Bai Qingyan said, gently stroking the silver engraved hand warmer, her demeanor indifferent yet composed.
Soon, the disciple from Tianfeng Kingdom was dragged upright and made to sit on the chair. He used his bloodied hands to hold onto the armrests to prevent himself from slipping, but with no nails left, the pain was excruciating.
"Greetings to the Emperor of Zhou..." The Great Shaman's disciple nodded slightly towards Bai Qingyan.
"Today is New Year's Eve. I don't know if Tianfeng Kingdom has this custom of celebrating the new year, but here in Zhou, we eat dumplings for the New Year!" Bai Qingyan turned and glanced at Wei Zhong.
The young eunuch Wei Zhong took the dumplings out of the black lacquered gold food box and placed them in front of the disciple of the Great Shaman, still steaming hot.
The disciple, having gone long without food, felt his throat tighten, but upon hearing the Zhou prison guards say that these dumplings were made using the giant elephants from his Tianfeng Kingdom, he couldn't eat...
The giant elephant is a sacred object in their Tianfeng Kingdom and a symbol of Tianfeng.
"Thank you for the Emperor's kindness, but... the giant elephant is a sacred symbol in our Tianfeng Kingdom, and eating it is a sin that even God cannot forgive!" The disciple of Tianfeng Kingdom looked up at Bai Qingyan with a hoarse voice, "I ask for the Emperor's understanding!"
Bai Qingyan nodded and smiled, "Though I didn't know the giant elephant was a symbol of Tianfeng Kingdom, I understand that it fights alongside you and is your close companion. So... this plate of vegetarian dumplings was specially made for you. If your hands can't move, someone can feed you."
The prison guard, quick-witted, used chopsticks to split a dumpling in half to show the Great Shaman's disciple it was vegetarian, then brought half to the disciple's mouth.
"I've actually known about the jade cicada for a long time..." Bai Qingyan said leisurely as she saw the disciple eat the dumplings, "Li Zhijie explained everything to me clearly, which is why your Tianfeng Kingdom wanted Li Zhijie so much. After all, a jade cicada is already with us in Zhou. If I can seize the jade cicada from Sal Khan, maybe we can attempt to reverse time."
The Great Shaman's disciple paused in chewing his dumplings and looked up at Bai Qingyan, saying, "This jade cicada belongs to the royal family of Tianfeng Kingdom, and aside from the bloodline of the Tianfeng royal family, no one can use it..."
"Your words lack sincerity." Bai Qingyan chuckled lowly, staring fixedly at the disciple, "No one has ever deceived me with lies. I came today just to ask, you said Sal Khan doesn't want direct confrontation with Zhou and Yan Kingdom because God has chosen a ruler for this land? Then... do you know who this ruler is?"
The disciple's expression grew tense as he looked at Bai Qingyan and said, "If it's not the Emperor of Zhou, then it's the Ninth Prince of Yan Kingdom, or... it's your child, perhaps the Ninth Prince of Yan Kingdom's child, or maybe it's your future child."
The disciple believed deep down it should be the child of the Emperor of Zhou and the Ninth Prince of Yan Kingdom. He chose to tell Bai Qingyan in the hope that she would indeed have a child with the Ninth Prince of Yan Kingdom. Once the ruler chosen by God for this land is born, their Tianfeng Kingdom could kill this land's ruler and occupy this unclaimed territory.
"So, since Sal Khan knows this, he doesn't dare act to kill both me and the Ninth Prince of Yan Kingdom, fearing that in a winter campaign, their Elephant Army won't have the advantage and offending both Zhou and Yan would yield no gain?" Bai Qingyan asked.
The disciple's eyes flickered, not plotting to kill the Emperor of Zhou and Ninth Prince of Yan because the ruler chosen by God hasn't appeared yet, killing either wouldn't count as killing this land's ruler.
"Yes..." The disciple replied.
"I've said before, no one can deceive me with lies." Bai Qingyan leaned forward slightly, "But, even if you don't speak the truth, I'll let you go today!"
The disciple raised his head abruptly.
"Go back and tell Sal Khan, if he obediently retreats to the other side of the snowy mountains with the Elephant Army, it will end there!" Bai Qingyan's tone seemed calm, yet somehow carried a sense of slaughter, sending chills down one's spine, "But if he harbors delusions to claim our land and enslave our people, the corpses of your Tianfeng Kingdom's Elephant Army will become food for our Zhou troops! We don't hold as many taboos as you in Tianfeng Kingdom about giant elephants."
The disciple's throat moved as he remained silent.
Bai Qingyan slowly stood up and straightened her sleeves, "Finish the dumplings, Zhou will not hold you. Quickly convey my words to Sal Khan!"
Finishing her words, Bai Qingyan left with Shen Qingzhu and Wei Zhong.
As they just stepped out of the dungeon, while Shen Qingzhu helped Bai Qingyan onto the carriage, Bai Qingyan told Wei Zhong, "Send a capable person to follow this disciple of the Great Shaman from Tianfeng Kingdom; he must have a way to find Sal Khan."
"Yes!" Wei Zhong responded.
Only then did Bai Qingyan take Shen Qingzhu's hand and bend to enter the carriage.
·
Empress Dowager Yan personally cooked the New Year's Eve dinner, waiting for Murong Li and Murong Yan to celebrate the evening together. However, she heard that Murong Yan and Murong Li went to patrol the camp and had to sit quietly under the lamp waiting.
She looked at the red lanterns swaying outside the window, recalling how her son Murong Li later spoke words that had hurt Murong Yan, and felt guilty, after all... if Murong Yan truly wanted the throne, he could have rightfully claimed it when Murong Yu left the Imperial Edict naming him as the heir.
Empress Dowager Yan also wanted to use this chance to apologize to her younger uncle and mention the marriage between Murong Yan and Meng Zhaorong. Once Murong Yan and Meng Zhaorong settle down, with his focus in Yan Kingdom, she wouldn't fear Murong Yan constantly thinking about the Emperor of Zhou and the child in the Emperor of Zhou's womb.
Watching the food nearly grow cold without seeing Murong Li and Murong Yan return, Empress Dowager Yan anxiously clutched her handkerchief and kept looking outside.
Empress Dowager Yan's personal maid picked a few pieces of burning coal from the brazier and placed them into the foot warmer at Empress Dowager Yan's feet, added a few pieces to the gilded auspicious beast bronze furnace, then closed the lid...