Volume 2 - Chapter 16: The Trial of Liu Yurong - Part 1
Once the techniques were taken away by the elders, Li Tiangang escorted everyone out of the courtyard. He then returned to his study and picked up the interrogation report he had been reading earlier.
This was his second time reviewing it, merely to check for any omissions.
Before long, he finished his second reading.
Li Tiangang stood silently in place, gazing at a martial training area in the courtyard.
A dragon tendon grass target stood there, battered and worn, now covered with snow.
Thunk!
An arrow shot straight into the center of the dragon tendon grass target, its tail trembling slightly.
“How’s that? I told you I could hit it!”
A child jumped up excitedly, cheering.
“Haha, not bad. Keep practicing, and you’ll surpass Second Brother someday,” said a tall, sword-wearing youth with a smile.
“He’s already surpassed me. Old Seventh’s talent in archery is far better than mine,” another slender young man said with a smile, patting the delighted child on the head.
“Nonsense! You once shot a demon’s head clean off from thirty li away. The entire army saw it happen,” the sword-wearing youth said admiringly.
The slender young man smiled without a word and then turned to the child. “Didn’t you say last time that you wanted your own treasured blade? Look, what’s this?”
He brought his hand from behind his back, revealing a curved blade the length of a dagger.
The child’s eyes lit up with delight as he took the blade in his hands. “Second Brother, did you buy this for me?”
“No, Second Brother hunted a flood dragon, took its teeth and scales, and had it forged for you,” the sword-wearing youth explained enviously.
“Thank you, Second Brother!”
The child was overjoyed, holding the curved blade as though it were a treasure, playing with it endlessly.
From another part of the courtyard, the sudden sound of a child crying broke the tranquility, loud and piercing.
The two youths turned to look and laughed together.
“Little Nine wet the bed again.”
They walked toward the source of the crying, with the child following close behind. Their figures grew distant, fading into nothingness.
The light and shadows of the past fell silent once more. The warm sunlight of spring had disappeared, leaving only a courtyard covered in snow.
The once-new dragon tendon grass target now stood ragged and worn.
The laughter and joy had long since gone, and while the target remained, those who shot at it never returned…
Li Tiangang clenched his hands lightly and took a deep breath. He turned and walked out of Shanhe Courtyard with a grim expression.
Yu Xuan and Li Fu moved to follow him, but he raised a hand to stop them.
He said nothing, simply clasping his hands behind his back as he disappeared beyond the courtyard gate amidst falling snowflakes.
Before long, Li Tiangang arrived at Shuihua Courtyard.
Pushing open the door, he startled the guards stationed there. Seeing Li Tiangang, they froze momentarily before hurriedly bowing in salute, their eyes betraying unease.
With his hands behind his back, Li Tiangang walked into the courtyard, where the sound of swordplay filled the air. A young figure was practicing his swordsmanship.
Li Tiangang glanced sideways. The young man noticed him, paused, and looked back with cold eyes, tinged with faint anger.
Without speaking, Li Tiangang averted his gaze and walked toward a pavilion.
In the pavilion stood a graceful woman in a green double-lapelled dress. She leaned against the railing, gazing at the young man practicing in the courtyard.
Li Tiangang approached from the side, but the woman’s expression hardly changed. She continued to watch the young man, her lips pressing into a thin line, betraying her inner turmoil.
A tense silence fell over the pavilion.
After a long pause, Li Tiangang broke the silence. “Second Sister-in-law, the interrogation results have reached me. You personally affixed your seal of confirmation. Do you have anything else to say?”
Liu Yurong didn’t move. After a moment, she replied slowly, “What do you expect me to say? Should your brother’s wife kneel to you, Li Tiangang, and apologize? Or should I kneel before your son and let him kill us, mother and son?”
As she spoke, she turned around, her dark eyes locking onto Li Tiangang’s.
Li Tiangang fell silent for a moment before saying, “Since you do not dispute the interrogation results, I will handle this matter according to the law.”
“‘According to the law,’ you say…”
Liu Yurong’s eyes suddenly burned with rage, filled with hatred and venom.
“Using the Thousand Soul-Piercing Worm Technique for coercion—if I hadn’t confessed, I’d likely have died in that prison cell! Li Tiangang, you are truly ruthless. Ruthless to your son, ruthless to a widow and her orphan. Do you think your late brother would be proud of you?”
Li Tiangang stared at the fury and resentment on her face and said nothing.
He thought back to the days when she and his second brother, Li Fengping, had been inseparable. Every time she saw him back then, she carried herself with the grace of a noble lady, always wearing a gentle smile. She would bring him small treats, and when visiting the market, she never failed to bring back gifts.
They had all been young then, carefree, full of ambition, their faces unburdened by the weight of time.
Now, as their eyes met, it was impossible to fathom the other’s thoughts.
Time had changed everything.
“Second Sister-in-law, under the national law, you are stripped of your title as a First-Class Marquis’s Wife and demoted to a common rank. Under family law, your intent to harm the direct heir of the family warrants exile or execution. However, in light of Second Brother’s past contributions, you will remain confined to Shuihua Courtyard. With the Li family’s protection, you can still enjoy a life of wealth and comfort.”
“Wealth and comfort?!”
Liu Yurong glared at him with hatred. “Why was Fengping so foolish, so naïve? His talent was no less than yours, Li Tiangang! Qianfeng had divine blood in his veins. When he married me, he had already achieved the rank of the Three Immortals!”
“But still, he—he was foolish enough to shield you from a sword strike, gravely wounding himself. And then, despite his injuries, he went to war and never returned, leaving not even his bones behind...”
Her voice trembled with grief, her eyes filled with tears of hatred and sorrow. “He died the year Qianfeng was born!”
“He was just born and lost his father!”
Li Tiangang’s chest rose and fell slightly, yet he remained as silent as stone.
“If not for you, how would he have died? If he hadn’t died, when Xiao Jiu passed away, the True Dragon Seat would have belonged to him!”
“If he were still alive, how could he have allowed you to bully us—a widow and her orphan? If he were still alive, would I have needed to exhaust all my efforts to poison that monstrous son of yours?”
“This is all your fault—your fault!”
Liu Yurong’s emotions spiraled into collapse as she wept and screamed in rage.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the courtyard, stepping between Liu Yurong and Li Tiangang. The young man’s eyes were cold as frost as he stared at the towering figure before him.
“My mother’s matters are mine to bear. Don’t even think about punishing her!”
Li Qianfeng said coldly, his tone filled with defiance.
Li Tiangang’s heart twinged painfully as he looked into those icy eyes. They were eyes he had seen before, not long ago.
In terms of seniority, the young man was his nephew and should have called him uncle.
Yet, in that gaze, there was nothing but coldness, as if staring at a stranger—or worse, an enemy.
Liu Yurong heard her son’s words and was instantly alarmed. She pushed him away in a panic. “Stay out of this! This has nothing to do with you! Leave, now!”
Li Tiangang had already discerned that Liu Yurong’s confession during the interrogation wasn’t just due to the severity of the punishment but also her desire to shield her son from further involvement. After all, no one in the household believed in her innocence anymore. Even if she denied the charges, it would be futile.
“Li Tiangang, imprison me if you must, but Qianfeng is innocent. He’s still a child—he knows nothing.”
Liu Yurong glared at Li Tiangang with righteous fury.
Li Tiangang replied calmly, “I will act impartially. Qianfeng has committed no wrongdoing, so I will not interfere. As long as he doesn’t violate the law or the family rules in the future, he will have nothing to fear.”
Hearing this, Liu Yurong let out a shaky breath. Her shoulders began to tremble, and she laughed bitterly through her tears.
“Fengping, what a good younger brother you had…”
Her words were filled with equal parts mockery and sorrow.
Li Tiangang remained silent, offering no explanation. He simply gazed deeply at her and then at the young man before him. Slowly, he said,
“Qianfeng, the result of this True Dragon competition has already been reported to our ancestors and will not stand. You and Hao’er will still have the chance to compete again. I am giving Hao’er three years, and you will have the same. If you can still defeat Hao’er after three years, the True Dragon Seat will be yours.”
Li Qianfeng froze, staring at him. “Do you mean it?”
Li Tiangang did not repeat himself. The fact that the young man didn’t even address him as “uncle” was proof of how distant their relationship had become, quelling any enthusiasm he might have felt.
Liu Yurong, however, understood Li Tiangang’s character and knew he wouldn’t lie about such matters. She laughed again, her voice full of derision.
“Li Tiangang, Li Tiangang… Since Father’s passing, you truly haven’t changed one bit. Your son won the competition fair and square. That monster—who could possibly beat him?”
“Yet you insist on being impartial, refusing to hand over the True Dragon Seat outright. The sons of the Li family—every single one of you is a blockhead! Stubborn and utterly foolish!”
Li Tiangang glanced at her, his emotions now as calm as still water. He said indifferently,
“Perhaps. But the people of Dayu need such stubborn men. Your Liu family, with all your astute scholars, has accomplished little of true value over the years. You take advantage of the Li family’s protection to evade taxes and amass wealth. Did you think I wouldn’t know?”
Liu Yurong froze, her face turning ashen.
“If you don’t want others to know, don’t do it in the first place!”
With a sweep of his sleeves, Li Tiangang turned and left Shuihua Courtyard.
Outside the courtyard, the captain of the personal guards approached and bowed, awaiting orders.
“Seal the courtyard. She is not to step outside.”
Li Tiangang left these words behind and walked away.