Chapter 170: Blood Splatters Fengxian Hall! Blood Sacrifice For Yingtian Prefecture! 【monthly Ticket Bonus Update 7 8】
“Your Highness, the Emperor has gone to Fengxian Hall with his sword.”
Inside a not-so-large palace Buddhist Hall, a woman in a plain robe was kneeling before a Buddha statue, bowing piously, giving an impression of solemnity and reverence.
Behind her, an old nanny was reporting to her in a low voice.
However, the woman did not answer her, and simply calmly continued to complete her ‘routine’.
Only after all the ‘routines’ were finished did she stand up from the prayer mat with the old nanny’s support, and ask indifferently, “Does Ge Liffei know?”
The old nanny said softly, “She might not know yet. Our informants are faster than anyone else.”
“What about Li Xianfei and Ge Liffei?”
“They have already been informed.”
“Then add more fuel to the fire and send her on her way.”
“Yes.”
The old nanny agreed, then as if remembering something, she reminded, “The Prince sent a message asking you to burn incense and worship Buddha less recently and take care of your health.”
Hearing this, the woman’s eyelashes moved almost imperceptibly, then she said calmly and indifferently:
“I understand. You may leave now.”
Meanwhile, in the palace where Guo Ningfei resided.
Incense wafted in the hall, yet it could not dispel the invisible oppression.
Guo Ningfei sat regally in the main seat. Although she was over forty, the heroic spirit and composure of her youth were still visible in her demeanor.
However, at this moment, her brows were tightly furrowed, and her fingers unconsciously twirled a string of smooth prayer beads on her wrist.
The news that Prince Qin, Prince Jin, and Prince Zhou had been urgently summoned back to the capital city and were being kept under watch had already spread like wildfire throughout the six palaces.
With the wind of unrest in the imperial court, how could the inner palace remain untouched? Especially these three princes, whose status was special and whose matters involved the great affair of the late Crown Prince Zhu Biao.
Guo Ningfei’s heart felt as if it were being roasted over a fire.
She had managed the affairs of the six palaces for many years and knew well that ‘the inner palace must not interfere in politics’ was an ironclad rule and a path to self-preservation.
The Emperor was in a fit of rage; to offer advice rashly at this moment would be like a moth flying into a flame.
Just then, hurried and slightly flustered footsteps were heard from outside the hall.
Immediately, the curtains were lifted, and Li Xianfei and Ge Liffei entered almost one after the other.
Both of them had anxious expressions, having lost their usual composure.
“Sister Ning Fei!”
Li Xianfei, being slightly younger and more impetuous, spoke before she could even sit down:
“Have you heard? Prince Qin, Prince Jin, and the others… The Emperor’s thunderous wrath this time, what if… what if in his rage, he does something irreversible? What should we do?!”
Her words carried obvious anxiety, and her eyes flickered.
It was well known in the palace that Li Xianfei often received offerings and favors from the maternal families of Prince Qin and Prince Jin. Naturally, she was extremely worried at this moment.
Ge Liffei had a closer relationship with Guo Ningfei. Although she was also worried, her tone was slightly calmer and more earnest:
“Sister Ning, Prince Zhou has a gentle nature and would never commit such treasonous acts.”
“When his imperial consort was alive, she and I had some friendship. I truly cannot bear to see him suffer such undeserved calamity.”
“Sister, you have always been prudent and respected by the Emperor. Could you… could you find an opportunity to advise him? Even if you can’t save Prince Zhou, you must save Prince Qin and Prince Jin! After all… after all, they are the blood of Empress Ma!”
She deliberately mentioned Empress Ma, who held a very special place in the inner palace and even in Old Zhu’s heart.
Empress Ma was virtuous and deeply loved by Old Zhu. Her sons naturally carried significant weight in Old Zhu’s heart.
Zhu Biao was deceased. If Prince Qin and Prince Jin were also to fall, then Empress Ma’s line would be without sons.
As for Prince Zhou? If Prince Qin and Prince Jin could be pardoned by Old Zhu, would Prince Zhou, who committed the least offense, be in trouble?
Alas!
Guo Ningfei sighed heavily in her heart at their words.
How could she not understand this logic? Empress Ma had been kind to her in the past and had vaguely entrusted her to look after the princes in the palace before her death.
Especially after her son, Prince Lu Zhu Tan, died prematurely, Old Zhu, to appease her, had allowed Prince Qin and Prince Jin to treat her as a mother, though it wasn’t a formal adoption, there was still a familial bond.
However, it was precisely this friendship and entrustment that made her position even more difficult.
She raised her eyes, her gaze sweeping over the two anxious consorts, her voice steady but with an undeniable refusal:
“I understand how both of you feel, my sisters. But precisely because the matter is so serious, we must not act rashly.”
“The Emperor is currently enraged, and the affairs of the court are complex and unpredictable, beyond what we women of the inner palace can fathom, let alone interfere. ‘The inner palace must not interfere in politics’ is an ancestral instruction and the foundation of our survival.”
“To speak rashly at this moment will not only be of no help but may also further anger His Majesty, bringing disaster upon ourselves.”
She paused, her tone becoming even more solemn:
“As for the three princes… His Majesty is their biological father. Even a tiger does not eat its cubs. He will make his own judgment.”
Speaking of this, her expression turned extremely serious:
“As concubines, to speculate wildly here, or even to attempt to influence His Majesty’s will, is truly unwise and disrespectful to His Majesty.”
Li Xianfei and Ge Liffei were silenced by her words, their faces showing disappointment and unwillingness. However, seeing Guo Ningfei’s firm stance, they dared not say more, and the atmosphere in the hall became momentarily stagnant.
Just then, a young eunuch rushed into the hall, rolling and scrambling, his face pale, his voice choked with tears, disregarding all etiquette:
“Your… Your Highness! It’s bad! The Emperor… the Emperor has gone to Fengxian Hall with his sword! His face… his face is terrifying!”
“What?!”
The three consorts almost simultaneously stood up in shock!
Fengxian Hall!
That was the place where the Emperor’s parents and all previous emperors and empresses were enshrined!
The Emperor going to Fengxian Hall with his sword at this time, his intention was self-evident.
He was about to make some major, possibly bloody, decision before the ancestral tablets.
“The Emperor… Is the Emperor really going to…”
Li Xianfei trembled all over, unable to complete her sentence.
Ge Liffei’s face also turned deathly pale, and she instinctively clutched Guo Ningfei’s sleeve.
Guo Ningfei’s heart also sank sharply, her previous composure instantly shattered.
The very thing she had most feared seemed to be developing in the worst possible direction.
If the Emperor, in his rage, truly dealt with Prince Qin and Prince Jin before the ancestors, then Empress Ma’s lineage would truly be extinguished!
How could she, Guo Ningfei, who had received kindness from Empress Ma and had been subtly comforted by the Emperor, face Empress Ma in the afterlife with any honor?!
If the Emperor calmed down later, would he also be angered with her, the mistress of the six palaces, for ‘failing to advise him’?
The rationality of ‘the inner palace must not interfere in politics’ from before was instantly shaken by the immense fear of ‘Empress Ma’s line being extinguished’ and the possibility of herself being implicated.
She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the storm within her heart, her eyes becoming resolute.
“Get me dressed!”
Guo Ningfei’s voice carried a barely perceptible tremor, but it was exceptionally firm:
“Prepare the sedan chair! Go to Fengxian Hall!”
“Sister! You are…”
Li Xianfei and Ge Liffei were both surprised and delighted.
“I cannot stand by and watch the Emperor make a decision he will regret in his rage, nor can I face Empress Ma’s spirit in heaven!”
Guo Ningfei said in a deep voice as she quickly walked towards the inner chambers:
“Even if interfering in politics is a crime, I must go today! At least… at least to ensure that His Majesty does not… shed blood on the spot within Fengxian Hall!”
Her words carried a sense of desperate heroism.
The outcome of this trip was uncertain, but she had no other choice.
Soon, Guo Ningfei changed into a more elegant palace dress, got into the soft sedan chair, and hurried towards Fengxian Hall.
Li Xianfei and Ge Liffei exchanged a look, the corners of their mouths curling into a faint, fleeting smile.
Li Xianfei then subtly looked at the young eunuch who had reported the news. The latter immediately understood and quietly left the place, heading towards that Buddhist Hall in the inner palace.
At the same time, inside Fengxian Hall.
Old Zhu stood with his back to the door, like a cold statue, before Zhu Biao’s memorial tablet.
The sword in his hand was sheathed, but the chilling killing intent was more potent than when it was unsheathed.
The candlelight stretched his shadow long, casting it onto the cold ground, as if he were a demon god from the netherworld.
In the vast hall, only the crackling sound of burning candles and his heavy, suppressed breathing could be heard.
Footsteps approached from afar.
The first to be brought in was Prince Qin Zhu Shuang.
He was almost stumbling as he was pushed in. Seeing Old Zhu’s back and the ancestral tablets filling the hall, especially Zhu Biao’s memorial tablet, his knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground with a ‘thump’, his voice choked with tears:
“Imperial Father… Your son… Your son greets Imperial Father… and pays respects to Eldest Brother…”
He kowtowed repeatedly, speaking incoherently. His previous irritability had been replaced by fear that had shattered his courage.
Old Zhu did not turn around, his voice like ice scraping across the ground, “Second son, how did your eldest brother treat you when he was alive?”
Zhu Shuang trembled all over and quickly replied, “Eldest Brother… Eldest Brother treated your son very well! He protected me since childhood and always thought of me with anything good…”
“Imperial Father, no matter how much of a scoundrel your son is, he would never harm Eldest Brother! Someone must have framed me! It was Third Brother! Yes! It must have been Third Brother!”
He habitually tried to shift the blame to Zhu Gang.
Just then, Prince Jin Zhu Gang was also brought in.
He walked steadily. After entering, he first paid a respectful deep bow to Old Zhu’s back and Zhu Biao’s memorial tablet, his voice filled with sorrow:
“Your unworthy son Zhu Gang, pays homage to Imperial Father… Eldest Brother… Gang’er has come to see you…”
He even managed to shed a few tears at the appropriate moment, appearing sincere and heartfelt.
Hearing Zhu Shuang’s accusation, he did not immediately refute it. He merely raised his tear-filled eyes and looked at Old Zhu’s back, his tone carrying a hint of grievance and helplessness:
“Second Brother… What are you saying? Heaven and earth can bear witness to my brother’s respect and love for Eldest Brother!”
“When Eldest Brother was gravely ill, your son worried day and night in Taiyuan, searching everywhere for famous doctors and ancient texts, only hoping to bring some benefit to Eldest Brother’s condition. How could I harbor any ill intentions?”
Prince Zhou Zhu Su was the last to be dragged in. He was so terrified he could barely stand, collapsing on the ground, sobbing, unable to even form complete sentences.
“Imperial Father…”
Old Zhu slowly turned around.
His gaze was like two red-hot branding irons, sweeping across the terrified, sophistical, or broken faces of his three sons one by one.
“Good, all very good.”
Old Zhu’s voice was not loud, but it caused the temperature in the entire hall to drop sharply: “You are all brotherly and loyal.”
Saying this, he suddenly strode forward and fixed his gaze on Zhu Shuang:
“Second son, tell us! What exactly did you mix into the ‘Western Regions Calming Incense’ you presented to your eldest brother?! Why does the Imperial Hospital’s record show that your eldest brother’s pulse became worse after using what you sent?!”
“Your son is wronged!”
Zhu Shuang kowtowed like pounding garlic:
“Those were all top-quality goods found by the subordinates! How could your son, with filial piety, harm Eldest Brother!?”
“It must be that the subordinates tampered with it! Or… or that the useless doctors at the Imperial Hospital didn’t know how to use it!”
Old Zhu ignored him and turned his gaze to Zhu Gang:
“Third son, you have always been meticulous. The people you sent to attend to your eldest brother when he fell ill in Shaanxi, they were truly ‘attentive’!”
“How did we hear that your favored consort was so influential that she even connected with the old eunuch serving your eldest brother? What were you trying to do? Hmm?!”
Zhu Gang’s heart trembled violently, but he feigned appropriate shock and fear:
“Imperial Father, please see clearly! Your son only recently learned that Lady Deng had done many things behind my back! It’s all my fault for misjudging people! I fell into that slut’s scheme!”
“But it wasn’t just me who sent people to serve him, Fourth Brother also sent people to serve…”
He shifted responsibility to a vague ‘lover’ and ‘Fourth Brother Zhu Di’s framing.’
Finally, Old Zhu’s gaze fell on the collapsed Zhu Su, his tone seeming to soften slightly, yet it was more bone-chilling:
“Fifth son, we hear you’ve grown capable and improved some elixir formula, something called ‘Red Lead Immortal Pill’? Why don’t you send us some too? Zhou Ji wielded your elixir formula with such authority. He turned our inner palace upside down!”
Zhu Su was terrified to the point of losing his soul, crying out:
“Imperial Father! Your son is wronged… That’s not an ‘immortal pill’! It’s just a tonic recipe for strengthening the body!”
“I didn’t give it to Zhou Ji, and I don’t know where he got it from! Your son knows nothing!”
The three sons, three reactions: shifting blame, making excuses, and crying for mercy.
Old Zhu looked at them, his anger and disappointment churning like lava within him.
He didn’t believe their nonsense at all.
“Don’t know? Wronged? Framed?”
Old Zhu’s voice suddenly rose, like thunder exploding in Fengxian Hall: “Are you all taking us for a three-year-old child to play with?!”
He suddenly drew his precious sword, the tip pointed directly at the three sons, his voice trembling with extreme anger:
“Biao’er is lying right there! Watching you!”
“Before the ancestral spirits, you still dare to speak glibly!?”
“If you don’t give us a satisfactory explanation today, none of you will leave this Fengxian Hall!”
The chilling sword light reflected Old Zhu’s ferocious face and the deathly pale faces of his three sons.
“Your Majesty.”
Just as the father and sons were in a stalemate, Yun Ming’s trembling voice sounded from outside the door: “Commander Jiang has submitted a memorial…”
“Have him bring it in personally—!”
Old Zhu coldly shouted.
Jiang Huan and Yun Ming outside the door exchanged bitter glances, then took a deep breath and pushed open the hall door.
Soon, he handed the memorial to Old Zhu.
Old Zhu took the memorial without a word and unfolded it.
It meticulously recorded every word Zhang Biao had spoken. Seeing this, fierceness flared in his eyes, but he did not immediately react. Instead, he looked at his three sons.
“Zhang Biao has written quite a lot.”
Old Zhu’s tone suddenly became extremely calm:
“Regarding the mess in Shaanxi, and concerning… some suspicious circumstances during Biao’er’s illness in Shaanxi back then.”
“Imperial Father!”
Zhu Shuang’s forehead instantly beaded with cold sweat. He suddenly looked up and said urgently:
“That madman is talking nonsense! Your son is loyal and devoted to his elder brother! When my elder brother was in Shaanxi, I did my best to serve him, invited famous doctors, and dared not be negligent in the slightest!”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Old Zhu’s gaze, like two ice picks, slowly pierced Zhu Shuang:
“Then tell us, why did Biao’er’s back abscess suddenly ‘improve’ after resting for a few days in your Prince of Qin’s mansion in Xi’an? And why did he then resume his inspection, only to suddenly worsen on his way back to the capital and die without cure?”
This question, like a poisoned needle, accurately pierced the core of Zhu Shuang’s most dreaded memory.
“Your son… your son doesn’t know!”
Zhu Shuang’s face turned ashen, and he spoke incoherently:
“At that time, my elder brother’s illness was severe, and he was in unbearable pain. Your son was burning with anxiety and gathered all the famous doctors in Shaanxi, but they were all… all helpless!”
“Later… later my elder brother said he wanted to return to the capital for treatment, so your son prepared the best carriage and guards…”
His explanation was pale and weak, his eyes darting, not daring to meet Old Zhu’s gaze.
Old Zhu did not interrupt him, merely watched coldly.
Prince Jin Zhu Gang, standing by, his eyeballs rolling, suddenly spoke:
“Imperial Father, I can also testify to what my second brother said. At that time, my elder brother’s condition was fluctuating and truly strange. Perhaps… perhaps the journey aggravated his condition…”
He was trying to muddy the waters and steer it towards an accident.
Prince Zhou Zhu Su, the youngest and always timid, knelt there trembling, wishing he could shrink into a crack in the earth.
But Old Zhu’s gaze shifted from Zhu Shuang, swept over Zhu Gang, and finally landed on Zhu Su, his tone suddenly becoming chilling: “Fifth Prince!”
Zhu Su, startled, almost collapsed: “Imperial… Imperial Father…”
“We’ll give you one last chance! Besides Zhou Ji, who else did you give your ‘elixir’ to? Speak clearly, or we’ll flay you immediately!”
“Imperial Father, spare me.”
Hearing Old Zhu threaten to flay him, Zhu Su was terrified out of his wits. His psychological defenses instantly collapsed, and he kowtowed with tears streaming down his face:
“Your son bought the elixir formula from outside… Your son has read some miscellaneous books. He just wanted to improve it. Later, when he saw initial results, he refined some and gave it to… gave it to Second Brother and Third Brother, so they could appreciate it.”
“Second and Third! You still dare to say you know nothing?!”
Old Zhu shot a cold glance at Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang.
The two brothers trembled, cursing the Fifth Prince as a weakling in their hearts.
However, things had come to this, and they had no choice but to admit it.
Then, the Third Prince spoke first:
“Imperial Father, Your son remembers! Your son did receive pills from Fifth Brother, but Your son did not take them.”
“Later… later Your son heard that Second Brother liked to eat this stuff and liked to play, so he sent someone to give it to him. As for whether Second Brother ate it, or who he gave it to, I know nothing!”
“You good-for-nothing Third Prince, even at this point! You still want to frame me?!”
Zhu Shuang was furious, pointing at Zhu Gang’s nose and cursing.
But Old Zhu did not stop him.
He then heard himself angrily spew at Zhu Gang: “I didn’t eat those pills you sent!”
“What about the ones Fifth Brother sent, how did you handle them?”
Old Zhu interjected without warning:
“Among the ‘tribute’ you presented to your elder brother back then, was there this thing?! Speak—!”
“Boom!”
Zhu Shuang felt a thunderclap explode in his mind.
Buried memories surged out like a bursting dam.
Back then, when Zhu Biao’s back abscess flared up and caused him unbearable pain, he had indeed been terrified.
He feared his elder brother dying in his fief, feared the Emperor’s wrath, and even more feared that his elder brother had already discovered the evidence of his and the Third Prince’s collusion and embezzlement of military funds.
Just as he was at his wit’s end, his most favored concubine, Wang Shi, that woman who seemed demure but was cunning and sly, whispered in his ear:
“My Prince, the Crown Prince’s illness… it’s very strange. I heard that the ‘Red Lead Immortal Pill’ sent by Prince Zhou might have a miraculous effect… Even if it doesn’t work, it’s still your heartfelt effort, isn’t it?”
“Besides, if the Crown Prince doesn’t believe it, he naturally won’t use it… You don’t need to worry…”
He was possessed by a devil at the time, harboring a sliver of hope that ‘it might work,’ and deeper down, perhaps hiding the fear implied by Wang Shi that ‘the Crown Prince might be faking illness to investigate,’ he truly mixed a few ‘Red Lead Immortal Pills’ into the tribute, and even specifically hinted that it was ‘Fifth Brother’s intention.’
He had originally thought that his elder brother, Zhu Biao, with his intelligence and caution, would never take such a thing.
He just wanted to show his support, or to test if his elder brother was faking his illness.
But not long after, his elder brother’s condition actually ‘improved.’
Although still somewhat weak, the pain seemed to lessen, and he could barely manage his affairs.
At the time, he had secretly rejoiced, thinking that heaven had blessed his elder brother, perhaps the ‘elixir’ really worked? Perhaps his elder brother had been faking it before?
Now, looking back… that was not an improvement at all!
That was the effect of the ‘Red Lead Immortal Pill’!
At this moment, Prince Zhou Zhu Su’s tearful explanation struck like lightning, shattering the thick mist:
“Imperial Father! The Red Lead Immortal Pill… besides being aphrodisiac… it does have strong hallucinogenic and pain-relieving effects!”
“Ancient texts record that in the previous dynasty, imperial nobles suffering from severe sores and pain once took a small amount to alleviate their suffering… However, this substance is potent, and prolonged use harms the body. Your son was only researching, he never intended to give it to Elder Brother!”
“Hallucinogenic… pain-relieving…”
Old Zhu murmured these two words repeatedly, his bloodshot eyes widening, as if struck by a thunderbolt.
In an instant, all the clues, like shattered mirror fragments, were forcefully pieced together at this moment.
Zhu Biao’s back abscess suddenly worsening in Shaanxi…
The so-called ‘elixir’ presented by the Prince of Qin…
Zhu Biao’s pulse becoming increasingly strange after a brief ‘improvement’ in his condition…
His concealment from the imperial physicians after returning to the capital…
And before his death, his private dismissal of knowledgeable attendants, and even possibly… his tacit approval of some people’s ‘silencing’!
It was not premeditated murder!
It was a desperate choice under the torment of illness! It was ‘drinking poison to quench thirst’ in despair!
Zhu Biao, his always benevolent and steady son, regarded as the perfect Crown Prince, had actually secretly taken such a potent drug to alleviate unbearable pain!
He dared not let anyone know, especially his stern imperial father!
He feared being seen as weak, feared losing his dignity as Crown Prince!
That’s why he had to conceal it!
That’s why there were those seemingly ‘silencing’ actions!
He was defending his last shred of dignity as Crown Prince!
“Heh… heh…”
Old Zhu’s throat emitted a bellows-like sound. He stumbled back a step, and the precious sword in his hand clanged onto the golden brick floor.
He looked at Zhu Shuang in disbelief, his voice hoarse and distorted:
“So, Second Prince, when you presented that ‘elixir’… what did you say to your elder brother?!”
Zhu Shuang had long been petrified. Now, under his father’s man-eating gaze, he blurted out:
“Your son said it was an elixir refined by Fifth Brother, and it might alleviate pain… Let Elder Brother… try it…”
“But I also believed Wang Shi’s slander. I never thought my elder brother would take it.”
“Try it?! You didn’t think he would take it?!”
Old Zhu’s voice suddenly became sharp, filled with endless grief and indignation, and ridicule:
“He tried it! He really took it! And then his illness ‘got better’! So you believed your slutty concubine even more, thinking your elder brother was faking his illness to deceive you, right?!”
Zhu Shuang’s face was ashen, and he collapsed on the ground, unable to utter another word.
Old Zhu then turned sharply to Zhu Gang, his gaze as cold as a knife:
“Third Prince! You’ve always been shrewd! Didn’t you notice? Didn’t you admonish your elder brother?! Or perhaps… you were happy to see it happen?!”
Zhu Gang prostrated himself on the ground, his body trembling imperceptibly. He knew that any sophistry at this moment was futile, so he could only strike his head against the ground:
“Imperial Father, please enlighten me! Your son… Your son did hear that Elder Brother’s pain was unbearable, and he did write to comfort him… But Your son truly did not know that Elder Brother would… would resort to such a desperate measure!”
“If Your son had the slightest suspicion, he would have desperately tried to stop him!”
He cleared himself, admitting only to ‘negligence.’
Finally, Old Zhu’s gaze returned to Zhu Su, who was crying so hard he was almost fainting. In his eyes, there was no longer killing intent, but a deep and bottomless sorrow and powerlessness.
“Fifth Prince… your elixir… is truly a ‘good thing’…”
Old Zhu’s voice was filled with exhaustion and desolation:
“It didn’t take your life… but it took your elder brother’s life…”
The truth was so pathetic, so laughable, so hateful!
A Crown Prince tormented by illness, a prince foolishly misled by his concubine, a prince who outsmarted himself and was exploited, a prince who was a bookworm studying pharmacology, and a tragedy born of misunderstanding, fear, suspicion, and despair!
He, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had swept across the land and vanquished all heroes, thought he could control everything, yet he was only belatedly realizing how his most beloved son had been driven to destruction step by step!
“Pfft—!”
Driven by anger, a mouthful of blood suddenly spurted from Old Zhu’s mouth, splashing before Zhu Biao’s memorial tablet, a shocking sight.
“Imperial Father!”
“Your Majesty!”
Zhu Shuang, Zhu Gang, Zhu Su, and Yun Ming cried out in unison.
“Heh… heh…”
Old Zhu’s throat emitted a bellows-like sound. The cruel truth, like a red-hot iron clamp, fiercely twisted and shattered his last shred of reason.
He stumbled back a step, but in the next second, a more violent and destructive rage, like a volcanic eruption, surged from the depths of his heart to the top of his head.
It was not direct murder, but it was more hateful than murder!
It was these fools, these whores, these so-called ‘elixirs,’ that had driven his Biao’er to his death!
“Ah—!”
Old Zhu let out a beast-like roar that was not human, his eyes instantly turning blood red, as if they would bleed.
He fiercely grabbed the sword on the ground again and, like a madman, charged towards Prince Qin Zhu Shuang, who was closest to him.
“It’s all your fault, you fool! Listening to women’s words! You killed our Biao’er! We’ll have your life!”
The sword light, with a sharp hiss that tore through the air, aimed directly at Zhu Shuang’s face.
Zhu Shuang had long been petrified, but his instinct for survival made him instinctively roll to the side, while desperately roaring:
“Imperial Father, spare me! Your son didn’t know!!”
He instinctively reached out to block the fatal sword edge.
“Second Brother, you mustn’t—!”
Prince Jin Zhu Gang beside him turned pale with shock and exclaimed, instinctively reaching out to pull Zhu Shuang’s arm, trying to stop this action that was tantamount to rebellion.
However, it was too late.
“Slash—!”
Blood splattered.
A severed arm flew out, accompanied by Zhu Shuang’s extremely shrill scream.
Zhu Shuang fell heavily to the ground, blood gushing from the severed limb, instantly dyeing the golden bricks beneath him red.
Seeing that Zhu Shuang dared to resist, Old Zhu’s eyes grew even more frenzied, his killing intent burning like tangible flames:
“Rebellious son! You dare to block?! We’ll cleanse the household today!”
He raised the dripping long sword and was about to thrust it into the chest of Zhu Shuang, who was writhing and howling on the ground! If this sword strike landed, Zhu Shuang would surely die!
“Your Majesty! Stay your hand—!”
At this critical moment, a piercing female voice came from outside the hall.
Guo Ningfei rushed in desperately. She had heard rumors and knew that the princes were in mortal danger, so she risked her life to stop them.
She threw herself before Old Zhu and tightly clasped his sword-wielding arm, tears streaming down her face:
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty, calm your anger! Prince Qin and the others are Empress Niang Niang’s own flesh and blood! If you kill them, how can your sister rest in peace in the underworld? Your Majesty—!”
The three words ‘Empress Ma’ struck Old Zhu like needles, causing him to pause slightly.
But immediately, a greater fury engulfed him.
He violently threw Guo Ningfei aside, pointed his sword at her, his voice distorted by extreme hatred:
“Flesh and blood?! When they killed Biao’er, did they think of brotherhood?!”
“And you! Your good son! Zhu Tan! That bastard! What kind of damn elixir did he refine! He’s still causing trouble even after death!”
“Your Guo family! You are all scourges! You scourged our Biao’er—!!”
New and old grudges erupted completely at this moment.
The old grievance of Prince Lu Huang Zhu Tan, who was addicted to elixirs and died prematurely in his prime, along with the immense hatred for Zhu Biao’s death today, was all poured onto Guo Ningfei and her family.
“No… Your Majesty… Tan’er, he…”
Guo Ningfei was so terrified by Old Zhu’s frenzied gaze and heart-piercing words that she was beside herself and wanted to explain.
But Old Zhu had completely lost his reason.
“Go down and join your good son—!”
Accompanied by a roar filled with malice and madness, the long sword in Old Zhu’s hand mercilessly plunged into Guo Ningfei’s chest without hesitation.
“Ugh…”
Guo Ningfei’s eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at the sword piercing her body, then at the mad-like Old Zhu, and slowly collapsed to the ground, dying.
Blood spread from beneath her.
In Fengxian Hall, there was deathly silence.
Only the groans from Zhu Shuang’s severed arm and the sound of spurting blood remained, along with the gasps of Prince Jin Zhu Gang and Prince Zhou Zhu Su, as if their throats were choked from extreme fear.
Zhu Su had fainted directly from fright, his crotch wet.
Old Zhu stood in the blood, his face and dragon robe splattered with the blood of Guo Ningfei and Zhu Shuang. He held the dripping long sword, like an Asura rising from a hellish pool of blood.
He slowly turned his head, his cold, mad, inhuman gaze sweeping first over the dying Zhu Shuang on the ground, and then falling on Zhu Gang, whose face was ashen and who trembled like a sieve.
“Heh… heh heh…”
Old Zhu let out a chilling low laugh.
He threw away the sword stained with blood and issued a decree that was so cold and cruel, it was more terrifying than any roar, delivered in an unusually calm tone:
“Hear my decree—!”
“Prince Qin Zhu Shuang, foolish and ignorant, heeding slander, indirectly caused the Crown Prince’s death, his crimes are immense!”
“He is to be stripped of his princely title and demoted to a commoner! The severing of his arm is his own doing! He shall be escorted to Xiao Mausoleum to guard the Crown Prince’s tomb!”
“He is forbidden to leave the mausoleum for the rest of his life! After death, he shall not be buried in the Imperial Mausoleum, but cast into a mass grave to be devoured by wild dogs!”
“All those in Prince Qin’s Mansion, excluding imperial descendants, who were involved in the Crown Prince’s affairs, whether they knew of it or not, are to be apprehended, their households confiscated, and their clans exterminated!”
“Consort Wang Shi is to have her entire nine generations of relatives apprehended and executed by Lingchi—slow slicing!”
“Prince Jin Zhu Gang, as an elder brother, stood by and watched his younger brother commit a grave error, knew of it and did not report it, harboring ulterior motives. He is to be stripped of his princely title and imprisoned in Fengyang behind high walls, never to be released!”
“Prince Zhou Zhu Su, who studied dark arts and offered potent medicine, though it was not his intention, his crime is unforgivable! He is to be stripped of his princely title and imprisoned in his former princely mansion, not to be released until death!”
“The deceased Prince Lu Huang Zhu Tan, was dissolute and lawless, his legacy of elixir formulas caused chaos in the Imperial Palace and indirectly led to the Crown Prince’s death, his guilt is inescapable!”
“His princely title is to be posthumously revoked and Prince Lu Huang’s Mansion destroyed! His descendants are to be removed from the ancestral registry and all demoted to commoners, never to be employed!”
These decrees, like hailstones in midwinter, struck the surviving Zhu Gang, shattering his spirit.
Old Zhu finished speaking, not even glancing at the corpses on the ground or his disgraced son. He turned and walked, step by step, towards the outside of Fengxian Hall, treading on the blood-soaked ground.
His back, in the pool of blood and candlelight, appeared immensely tall, yet also incredibly lonely and mad.
As he walked, he spoke in that bone-chilling voice to Yun Ming and Jiang Huan, who knelt like stone statues outside the hall, ordering them:
“All officials, eunuchs, and physicians related to the Crown Prince’s journey to Shaanxi…”
“All those who knew the truth about the Crown Prince consuming pills and did not report it…”
“All those… who might have watched the spectacle, or even secretly rejoiced…”
“Find out… for me… one by one!”
“Better to kill three thousand wrongly… than to let one go!”
“I want this Yingtian Prefecture… to be drenched in blood… to mourn my Biao’er!”
The blood-scented decree, accompanied by Old Zhu’s mad yet resolute footsteps, echoed throughout the dead Imperial Palace.
A bloody purge, more brutal and far-reaching than the Hu Weiyong case, was about to begin.
And all of this stemmed from a father’s deepest, most twisted love for his son, and an Emperor’s most absolute, most ruthless hatred.
Please vote with monthly tickets~
Thanks to Zi Yan Hei Long for the 10,000 reward.
Thanks to Nice Feng Huo for the 500 reward.
Thanks to Xiao Dian Feng Yun for the 500 reward.
