Chapter 157: Hero

Liu Ji had not expected Yang Huzi to be overly clever and bring back such a massive trouble.

Now that things had reached this point, the outcome was painfully obvious. Liu Ji knew it, Elcireia knew it, and the woman herself knew it. Dealing with it in the shadows was the best course of action, ensuring a satisfactory explanation to superiors and subordinates alike.

From the very moment Saraswati stepped out of the royal palace, her fate was sealed. She had to die. Only her death could minimize the fallout and allow the other women to survive, including her daughter.

The Queen of Nepal, harboring rebellious intentions, sought a chance to escape and raised an army in the western territories, which was subsequently crushed by Liu Ji and his men. During the fall of the city, she and her co-conspirators committed self-immolation within the city walls, accompanied by her daughter and several attendants.

This was the solution Liu Ji had designed for the entire incident. Had it not been for that earlier episode, if she had obediently surrendered the city of Kapilehro, she might have been given a chance to escape through a feigned death like a cicada shedding its shell. But now, everyone knew that the leader within the city was the Queen of Nepal, leaving her with only one path—death.

This Yang Huzi really liked to meddle in other people's business, Liu Ji thought with a hint of helplessness. Man proposes, heaven disposes; plans can never keep up with changes. The ancient sages never lied to him.

What now? To kill a mother right in front of her daughter—no normal person could ever let go of that resentment. Liu Ji had never done anything so shameless, and unconsciously, his expression grew heavy.

"How much do your men know about this?"

How familiar Yang Yu was with him! Hearing the tone, he immediately understood there was trouble and grew somewhat flustered. "When she revealed her identity, only one of my men heard it. The others are completely clueless."

"Ignorance is their blessing." Liu Ji let out a sigh of relief. He truly did not want to implicate too many people. Had he not seen Li Siye go as far as eliminating his own trusted aides just to silence witnesses?

"Then... should I go and finish her off myself?"

"You only know her identity; you don't know what she has done. It is unwise to get too deeply entangled. It is also my fault for not making things clear beforehand. Once you step out of this tent, let this matter rot in your stomach." Liu Ji waved his hand. "You and the brothers have worked hard. Go and get some rest. Everything will be arranged."

Yang Yu did not press for further details. The more one knew, the greater the trouble. He was not a man lacking a sense of propriety. Before stepping out, he glanced at the young girl standing nearby. The more he looked, the more she resembled her mother, especially the expression in her eyes right then, which was filled with utter despair.

What a pity, such peerless beauty.

Since Yang Huzi had been distanced from the affair, Liu Ji had to handle it himself to prevent complications from arising over a long night. Hesitating no longer, Liu Ji stood up. Just at that moment, Elcireia raised her head, revealing her pitiful little face.

Neither of them had avoided her during the previous conversation. Although she did not understand Han Chinese very well, she roughly grasped the gist of the matter. Before he could speak, the young girl caught him by the hand.

"I will go."

Liu Ji, who had been planning to offer a few words of comfort, did not catch it clearly and asked, "What?"

"I will go persuade my mother to end it herself."

The young girl spoke with absolute clarity. Liu Ji sighed inwardly; indeed, like mother, like daughter. Cleverness was also hereditary. If she were too foolish, how could she manage such a massive burden after he left? Even if she harbored any small, secret ambitions, they were not worth worrying about, because the Great Tang still had several years of glory ahead.

"Very well, we'll go together." Liu Ji pulled her up by the hand and walked calmly out of the tent.

There were not many people in the camp, as the mountain men had all entered the city, leaving the place eerily quiet. Yang Yu and his men had naturally withdrawn, and his prey was just a short distance away.

"Mother." Hearing the familiar voice, Saraswati could hardly believe her eyes, her gaze filled with profound bewilderment.

Only the young girl entered. Liu Ji stood with his back to the tent outside to prevent any unexpected occurrences.

"Elcireia, let me look at you properly." The woman tried to stand up, only to find her hands and feet were bound.

The young girl untied the ropes for her. She had never seen her mother—usually so noble and elegant—in such a disheveled and miserable state, and her nose stung with suppressed tears.

"Did he send you to see me? Have the two of you already..." The daughter nodded shyly, confirming her guess.

"Then... how does he treat you?"

"Very well," Elcireia answered solemnly, bringing a great sense of relief to her mother.

"That's good then. Although Mother took the wrong path, being able to send you to his side can be considered a blessing in disguise. Otherwise, if you had been captured by the Tang soldiers, who knows what your fate would have been."

Elcireia believed her explanation. Sending her daughter to a relatively young Tang man might have been a mother's tiny, calculated design; regardless of the original intent, the outcome at least was good.

"Mother, rest assured. He is a very good man and treats me wonderfully. We will have our own children, and our children will become the masters of this land. Until he comes of age, I will act as his regent and oversee everything."

"Of course, of course he is good." Saraswati gently patted her hand and said with maternal tenderness, "My Kapilehro City was practically destroyed by him single-handedly."

"Only Mahmud Nur is worthy of my Elcireia."

"He is my hero." The young girl's eyes were brimming with pride, radiant and full of spirit. Saraswati had never seen her daughter looking like this—impossibly beautiful and invincible in her youth.

For a fleeting moment, the daughter even made her feel a twinge of jealousy. In all her long years, when had she ever known the sweetness of being so cherished? And as for herself... at her daughter's age, she had already known her destiny, forced to become the woman of a man old enough to be her father, even if he was the most noble man in the country.

Yet the most noble was not the happiest. There was not a trace of coercion in her daughter's eyes; her entire heart was filled with the shadow of that young Tang man. She gently stroked her daughter's lustrous hair and said in a slow, steady voice:

"How will your hero dispose of your mother, Elcireia?"

The daughter in her arms instantly snapped out of her bliss, trembling uncontrollably. She did not even dare to raise her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzzing.

"I'm sorry, Mother."

Saraswati's hand halted amidst her hair. With her keen intellect, she naturally understood the implication behind her daughter's words.

"Tell me, when?"

Elcireia raised her head, wearing a sorrowful expression. "Mother, I couldn't save you. He agreed to let you leave with dignity. You can choose the method yourself."

"He is going to kill me, and yet I must thank him. So this is your hero, Elcireia."

"Mother!"

Seeing her grow anxious, Saraswati smiled and patted her hand. "I understand, I understand. Not having to die at the hands of those lowly commoners and be defiled by them—that is already the best possible outcome."

"My child, I hope you will always remember today: a person's cleverness does not lie in devising exquisite schemes, but in knowing how to leverage one's own advantages and always standing behind the strong."

"Very well, since I have a choice, could you please ask your hero to come in? I have a few words to speak with him before I die."