The Slender Waist-Chapter 57 - 46: The Grudge of the Shattered Jade

A person who betrays her sisters is despicable and untrustworthy.

Without Huan Jiao, Feng Yun couldn’t have got her hands on Lin E’s secrets.

"The General was right in saying that only the dead keep their silence."

Alou shuddered involuntarily as he looked at the girl’s calm face.

True to her name, Huan Jiao was a seemingly delicate and fragile young lady with an opportunistic streak. When she first joined the camp, she bullied Feng Yun along with Lin E, showing her cunning nature. Later, seeing Feng Yun rise to power, she quickly switched sides and pledged her loyalty...

How could such a person possibly keep a tight lip?

Biting his teeth, Alou said, "This servant will take care of it right away."

Feng Yun looked at him, smiling slightly.

People really can change. The once frail and timid Alou, who used to close his eyes to kill a chicken, was now scared but had the courage to handle matters.

Feng Yun said, "Huan Jiao has a brother who is fond of gambling and fighting; he has bullied her since childhood, beaten her, and even convinced their parents to sell her to a brothel to cover his gambling debts. Huan Jiao hates him to the bone..."

After a short pause, she added, "Don’t let her travel alone, lest she feels lonely."

Alou noticed the intimidating coldness in his master’s eyes and his heart pounded fiercely.

How ruthless!

Was this still the same dull and naive Shi’er Niang who was once called stupid?

Alou’s gesture of bowing was a few degrees more respectful than usual.

"This servant understands."

Feng Yun didn’t say anything more and slowly walked back to the courtyard, holding the umbrella.

Behind her, two guards dragged Lin E’s corpse towards the fields, not a single straw mat wrapping the body; her figure, once vivid with life, slumped dejectedly over the pitifully shallow grave...

——

After leaving Tianzhuang, Pei Jue headed straight for the Northern Yong Army camp.

Zuo Zhong followed behind him, sensing the General’s foul mood and hardly daring to breathe.

Back in the barracks, Pei Jue searched the Central Military Tent for a moment before taking out a piece of jade pendant from a sandalwood box and handing it to Zuo Zhong.

Zuo Zhong was about to take it, but Pei Jue let go of his hand.

The jade pendant fell to the ground.

With a loud crash, it shattered into three pieces.

Zuo Zhong’s face changed in fright.

This piece of jade had been consecrated by a high monk from Baima Temple, and it was a Peace Jade. The day the General took three cities, the Empress Dowager had it sent specially to him, with words that it would ensure his safety, invincibility in battle, and freedom from sickness and calamity.

What disaster foretold now that the jade had broken?

A chill ran down Zuo Zhong’s spine as he immediately knelt on one knee and clenched his fists in apology.

"The General must pardon me; it was an oversight on my part..." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"I broke it," Pei Jue said, not looking at the shattered jade on the ground but giving cold instructions to Zuo Zhong.

"Take it to Central Capital on a fast horse and return it to the Empress Dowager."

He added, "And request that the Empress Dowager punish Fang Fucai for the crime of poisoning and harming another."

Zuo Zhong looked up in astonishment, trying to gauge Pei Jue’s expression.

An icy stillness, leaving no room for discussion.

Zuo Zhong bowed and accepted the command, "This servant will take care of it immediately."

The three shards of the broken jade were not evenly snapped; they glimmered with a bright green hue, indicating their precious quality. Carefully, Zuo Zhong picked them up, wrapped them in a yellow cloth, utterly puzzled.

Why break a perfectly good jade pendant?

What was the General trying to convey to the Empress Dowager by giving it to her?

—

"Better to be a broken piece of jade than a whole tile."

In the Central Capital of Luocheng, inside Jiafu Palace, Li Sangruo opened her palm to reveal the three pieces of broken jade, her beautiful eyes reddening and tears about to well up.

"He’s reminding me, sounding an alarm to me..."

"He wants that wretched concubine, he’s siding with his own! Telling me not to touch his people anymore."

"Why is his heart so hard?"

The young Empress Dowager’s voice pierced sharper with each sentence.

Eunuch Fang’s forehead was covered with fine sweat as he pondered the whole situation, thinking about the medicine he had given Lin E, trembling in fear.

"Your Majesty, there must be some misunderstanding, the General... perhaps he has been misled by that wretched concubine, wrongly accusing Your Majesty..."

"Misunderstanding?" Li Sangruo turned sharply, staring at him with a fierce gaze.

"He doesn’t want the jade I gave him; what kind of misunderstanding is that? What have I misinterpreted? Defying imperial authority, disrespecting the Empress Dowager - Pei Wangzhi has never taken me seriously at all!"

Eunuch Fang stammered for a long while, and then, with a thud, he knelt down and forcefully slapped himself.

"Your Majesty, it is the fault of this old servant for not handling things properly, causing Your Majesty to be misunderstood by the General..."

After a moment, he hardened his head and knocked it against the ground, choking back sobs as he said: "Please hand this old servant over to the General for punishment, to calm his anger... As long as Your Majesty achieves your desire, this servant... will have no regrets even in death."

Hmph! Li Sangruo coldly sat down.

"She’s just a lowly maidservant; how many of her does he want? I can grant him as many. Why must he insist on Feng Shi Er Niang? What’s so good about her that it bewitched him so, to murder my granted concubine for her sake, even destroying the jade that I gave him..."