SWDnovel Chapter 461 Liu Ruolan brought her two daughters into the palace!
Chapter 461 Liu Ruolan brought her two daughters into the palace!
Qin Mu's voice was calm, yet exceptionally clear in the deathly silent main hall.
Every word struck like a heavy hammer blow into everyone's hearts!
After saying this, he stood up, straightened his robes, and walked towards the palace gate.
Xu Fenghua followed behind him.
The elders stared wide-eyed at each other, their mouths agape, unable to utter a single word.
They stood frozen in place, like a group of wooden stakes struck by lightning, unable to move.
Qin Mu and Xu Fenghua disappeared into the night outside the door.
The carriage started slowly, its wheels rolling over the bluestone slabs with a "clattering" sound, and gradually disappeared into the distance.
But the golden-armored guards did not leave.
They remained guarding the Han residence, their silver armor gleaming coldly in the moonlight, their spears like a forest, their blades like frost, completely surrounding the mansion.
The Han family was in complete panic!
From the clan elders to the maids and even the horse grooms, everyone felt fear, as if an invisible hand had gripped everyone's heart, tightening its grip more and more.
Panic spread in everyone's heart, like a plague, silent yet more deadly than any sword.
Han Demao's cane fell to the ground with a thud. He didn't pick it up, but just stood there with his hands hanging at his sides, like a stone statue whose soul had been taken away.
Han Dechang plopped down in the chair, which creaked under the weight. He lowered his head, covered his face with his hands, and his shoulders trembled violently.
Han Deren paced back and forth, his footsteps hurried and heavy, making the floor thud, like a caged beast.
"What's going on? What exactly happened?" An elder finally couldn't hold back any longer, his voice trembling and shrill.
"What is Your Majesty doing? Didn't you say you were going to execute Han Zhong? Why have you imprisoned us all?"
Another elder chimed in, his voice hoarse and urgent.
"Does Your Majesty intend to..." He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant by leaving it unsaid.
Execute his entire family.
Those three words were like a mountain, pressing down on everyone's hearts, making it hard for them to breathe.
"Quick! Go find Liu Ruolan! Find out what exactly happened!"
Han Demao suddenly raised his head, his voice hoarse.
As soon as he finished speaking, a very light footstep came from the end of the corridor.
Liu Ruolan came out.
She was wearing a moon-white dress, the hem of which trailed on the ground and was covered in dust.
Her face was as pale as paper, her lips were bloodless, her eyes were red and swollen, her face was covered with tears, and her eyes were empty and desperate, like an ancient well that had been drained dry, with no bottom and no light.
The elders swarmed around her, surrounding her and bombarding her with questions.
"Ruolan! What on earth happened?!"
"Why did Your Majesty come out so quickly?"
"The plan failed? His Majesty confiscated it?"
"Is there any hope for Han Zhong? Tell me quickly!"
Liu Ruolan shook her head in despair, without saying a word.
Her lips were pressed tightly together, like a gate that could never be opened.
She dared not say it.
How dare she say that?
His Majesty said that Han Zhong had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor and rebelling, and that she and Han Zhong's two daughters would be taken to the palace as hostages.
She would never reveal a single word of these things, even if it meant her death.
If word gets out, the Han family will be completely finished.
His Majesty will assume they are colluding, that they are plotting, and will punish them with even more severe charges.
She had to keep those words buried deep inside, until she died, until they turned to ashes, and never let a third person know.
The clan elders were extremely anxious, like ants on a hot pan.
Liu Ruolan's silence only intensified the spread of fear.
That kind of unknown, invisible and intangible yet omnipresent fear is more despairing than any sword or gun.
Han Demao was so anxious that he stomped his feet and tapped his cane on the ground, causing the bluestone slab to crack.
Han Dechang's voice even changed tone with urgency.
"Ruolan! Say something! What did you say to His Majesty? What did His Majesty mean? Do you know that our whole family's lives are in your hands!"
Liu Ruolan didn't speak, but shook her head, tears silently welling up in her eyes.
Han Deren suddenly turned around and punched a pillar. Blood seeped from his fist, but he felt no pain.
In the courtyard outside the main hall, the maids huddled together, shivering. Some were weeping softly, some were muttering to themselves, and some were hugging each other, like a flock of sparrows trapped by a storm with nowhere to escape.
The servants squatted in the corner, their hands covering their heads, their shoulders trembling violently.
The horse groom squatted by the stable, hugging the horse's legs, silently shedding tears.
Panic, like an invisible net, enveloped the entire Han residence.
Just as deathly silence and despair intertwined, a clear voice came from around the corner of the corridor.
"Mother."
Han Xin'er, holding her younger sister Han Qin'er's hand, walked out of the shadows of the corridor.
The moonlight shone on the two women, making their identical faces exceptionally clear.
Han Xin'er's eyes were full of worry, while Han Qin'er looked completely bewildered, not knowing what had happened.
They were awakened by the noise outside.
The hurried footsteps, the suppressed sobs, the terrified whispers flooded into their boudoirs like a tidal wave, impossible to stop.
Han Xin'er walked up to her mother, let go of her sister's hand, and looked up at her mother's pale face, which was covered in tears.
Her eyes reddened, but she didn't cry. She simply reached out and gently took her mother's hand.
"Mother, what happened? Why are there so many soldiers outside? Why is everyone crying?"
Han Qin'er walked to her mother's side, tugged at her mother's clothes, looked up, her eyes full of innocence and confusion.
"Mother, where is Father? Why hasn't Father come back yet?"
Liu Ruolan finally couldn't hold back her tears.
She knelt down and hugged her two daughters tightly in her arms, tears silently welling up in her eyes and dripping into her daughters' hair.
She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.
She could only hold them tightly, as if they were the last two pieces of driftwood in the world.
Han Xin'er didn't ask any further questions. She simply reached out and gently patted her mother's back, just as her mother had done to comfort her in the past.
Her tears finally fell, silently streaming down her pale cheeks.
Although Han Qin'er didn't quite understand what had happened, she could sense the sadness and fear in her mother.
Her eyes reddened, her lips trembled, and tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls.
She didn't know why her father hadn't come back yet, why the soldiers had surrounded their house, or why everyone was crying.
All she knew was that she was terrified, her mother was heartbroken, and her sister was crying.
A night breeze rustled the branches and leaves of the ginkgo tree in the courtyard.
The moonlight shone on the mother and her two daughters, casting their shadows on the ground, where they huddled together like a tree bent by the wind, yet still clinging tightly to the soil.
Fear continues to spread.
Like a tide, it surged from the main hall to the corridor, from the corridor to the courtyard, and from the courtyard to every side room, every wing room, and every low house where the servants lived, submerging the entire Han mansion.
No one can remain calm in the face of such fear.
The maids huddled together and wept silently, the servants squatted in the corner trembling, and the clan elders slumped in their chairs, their faces ashen, like corpses that had not yet breathed their last.
Especially Liu Ruolan.
She was under the most pressure, like an invisible mountain pressing down on her shoulders, bending her back and making it hard for her to breathe.
She looked at her two daughters. Han Xin'er stood beside her, her eyes slightly red but she held back her tears, her back straight.
Han Qin'er leaned against her chest, tears still on her face, her little mouth slightly pursed, her eyes filled with confusion and fear.
Her heart was filled with mixed feelings and emotions.
Now that things have come to this, it seems there's no other way.
Liu Ruolan sighed heavily in her heart.
She crouched down to be at eye level with her two daughters, reached out and gently smoothed the stray hairs that had fallen across Han Qin'er's forehead, then took Han Xin'er's cold hand in hers.
A smile forced a smile onto her lips, but it carried an indescribable bitterness.
"Xin'er, Qin'er, Mother has a question for you."
Han Xin'er looked at her and nodded.
Han Qin'er also raised her head and looked at her mother with her eyes still wet with tears.
"If one day your father is arrested, but only you can save him, would you be willing to save him?"
Han Xin'er did not hesitate at all.
She nodded vigorously, her voice clear and firm. "Yes! Of course I'm willing!"
Han Qin'er nodded in agreement, her voice equally earnest. "Qin'er wants to save Father too! Qin'er doesn't want Father to die!"
Liu Ruolan's tears welled up again.
She reached out and pulled her two daughters into her arms, holding them tightly.
Her voice was hoarse, trembling uncontrollably.
"Good child... truly my good child..."
She held him for a long time, long enough for the moonlight to shift an inch further, long enough for a few more ginkgo leaves to fall from the courtyard.
She released her daughter, stood up, wiped away her tears with her sleeve, and took a deep breath.
She walked to the gate of the mansion and looked at the menacing silver-armored guards in golden armor outside.
The moonlight shone on her, making her slender figure stand out clearly.
She stood inside the threshold, her head slightly bowed, her voice very soft.
"I want to see His Majesty."
The lead golden-armored guard glanced at her and recognized her as Han Zhong's wife.
He nodded, his voice steady and devoid of any emotion.
"His Majesty has given the order. If you wish to see His Majesty, you may go directly there."
Liu Ruolan's heart relaxed slightly.
She turned around, walked back to the courtyard, and looked at her two daughters standing under the ginkgo tree.
The moonlight shone on them, illuminating their two identical faces with exceptional clarity.
Han Xin'er held her younger sister's hand, her back straight, like a sapling standing tall in the wind and rain.
Han Qin'er leaned against her sister, looked up at her mother, her eyes full of innocence.
Liu Ruolan walked over, reached out her hand, and took her two daughters' hands.
Her hands were trembling slightly, but she was holding them tightly.
"Let's go, let's go see someone with Mother."
She didn't say who she was going to see or what she was going to do.
She simply led them step by step out of the mansion gate, down the steps, and toward the carriage waiting at the door.
The carriage slowly started moving in the night, its wheels making a "clattering" sound as they rolled over the bluestone slabs.
Han Xin'er and Han Qin'er sat in the carriage, leaning against their mother, curiously lifting the curtain and gazing at the dark, endless night outside.
Liu Ruolan leaned against the carriage wall and sighed heavily.
She thought of Han Zhong, of the days they spent together, and of the reluctance in his eyes when he looked back at her before leaving for war.
She didn't know if what she was doing was right or wrong, nor did she know what awaited her daughters.
All she knew was that she had no other way to go.
Han Xin'er seemed to sense her mother's unease. She turned her head and gently rested her head on her mother's shoulder without saying a word, just quietly leaning against her.
Han Qin'er followed her sister's example, leaning closer, her little face pressed against her mother's arm, and closing her eyes.
The carriage traveled through street after street, and through palace walls after palace walls.
Moonlight streamed through the cracks in the carriage window, illuminating the mother and her two daughters and casting their shadows on the carriage wall, where they huddled close together.
........
In the imperial palace, at Huaqing Palace.
The candlelight burned quietly inside the lampshade, illuminating the room with a dim and warm glow.
Qin Mu leaned against the rosewood couch by the window, resting his chin on one hand, his posture languid.
A moon-white robe was loosely draped over his body, with the collar slightly open.
Xu Fenghua stood beside him, holding a cup of warm tea in her hands.
She hesitated for a long time before finally speaking, her voice soft and tentative.
"Your Majesty, there is something I do not understand."
Qin Mu opened his eyes, looked at her, the smile still on his lips. "Speak."
Xu Fenghua pursed her lips, placed the teacup on the small table, and folded her hands in front of her.
Her brows were slightly furrowed, with a very faint knot between them.
"Your Majesty, I do not understand what crime Han Zhong has committed that warrants such severe punishment?"
Qin Mu smiled, a faint smile carrying an indescribable meaning. "Are you genuinely unaware, or are you pretending?"
Xu Fenghua's heart skipped a beat.
Her face remained expressionless, and her voice remained steady.
"I truly don't understand. Han Zhong's failure to suppress the Moon Goddess Cult was a serious offense, but surely it doesn't warrant execution? The Great Qin Dynasty has existed for hundreds of years, and there have been countless generals who suffered defeats, yet few have been beheaded."
Qin Mu looked at her for a long time, then smiled.
"Han Zhong's crime was not the one of losing a battle. His crime was the one of deceiving the emperor and rebelling."
Xu Fenghua's pupils contracted slightly, as if she had been pricked by a needle.
Deceiving the emperor? Rebellion?
These two words were like two giant rocks, crashing heavily into the calm lake in her heart, stirring up towering waves.
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, each one like a lightning bolt, cleaving through the fog in her heart.
But her face remained expressionless; she simply nodded slightly, her voice steady.
"I see. Then you truly deserve to die."
Qin Mu looked at her, and the smile on his lips deepened.
"Aren't you going to ask him who he's rebelling against?"
Xu Fenghua's heart skipped a beat.
Her throat felt dry, as if something was blocking it.
She shook her head, her voice very soft.
"Your Majesty, I dare not ask."
Qin Mu smiled and said nothing more.
He leaned back on the soft couch, closed his eyes, and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the armrest.
Xu Fenghua stood beside him, head bowed, her heart churning like a turbulent sea, unable to find peace.
Rebellion? With whom could Han Zhong rebel?
Could it be the Moon Goddess Cult? Or perhaps another country?
Or... the North?
The thought of the northern border sent a chill down Xu Fenghua's spine.
She dared not speak, dared not look up, and dared not even breathe heavily.
She just stood there, like a lifeless statue.
Outside the hall, the night breeze stirred the lanterns under the eaves, causing the candlelight to flicker and the light to dance.
The distant sound of drums, deep and muffled, came one after another.
It's midnight.
A new day begins.
Tomorrow, at noon, Han Zhong will be executed.
Fortunately,
The carriage carrying Liu Ruolan and her two daughters had arrived at the palace.